Chris McEleny, Alex Salmond's former closest aide, has strongly denied claims that the late First Minister leaked details of his own sexual harassment investigation to the media. The denial directly contradicts allegations made by Nicola Sturgeon in her new memoir "Frankly".
McEleny, who served as Alba party General Secretary and was Salmond's primary media handler, dismissed the suggestion as "blatantly untrue". He told the Sunday Mail that he would have been responsible for any strategic leaking on behalf of his boss.
He said: "Obviously in politics, when it's opportune to get certain stories out then you find a way to get them out. I just happened to be, more often than not, the person that would get those stories out for Alex. It wasn't an issue he raised with me or asked me to put out."
The controversy centres on details of a Scottish Government investigation into sexual harassment complaints against Salmond that were revealed by the Daily Record in August 2018. Sturgeon suggested in her memoir that Salmond himself may have been the source of the leak.
McEleny argued the claim made no logical sense. He said: "To suggest that he would proactively leak something that led to, I would argue, the most damaging front page stories that any Scottish politician ever had to deal with, how would that make sense?"
Memoir controversy deepens
According to the Daily Mail, Sturgeon received £300,000 for her memoir deal. The book also includes claims that Salmond failed to read a 650-page independence White Paper and opposed gay marriage.
Despite disagreeing with much of Sturgeon's assessment of Salmond, McEleny expressed hope the memoir might finally end the "psychodrama" between the former political allies. He said: "I don't imagine many people who no longer like Nicola Sturgeon would say this, but I found much of her book quite enjoyable. Particularly when she talks about the lead up to 2007 and the sort of golden years of devolution."
McEleny concluded that most nationalists were ready to move beyond the personal conflicts. He said: "I think he now rests as Scotland's greatest ever First Minister, and the book hopefully has brought Nicola some closure."
Legal vindication
Salmond was acquitted of 13 sexual offence charges at Edinburgh High Court in March 2020. He also successfully challenged the Scottish Government's investigation, which was deemed unlawful and "tainted by apparent bias".
The Daily Mail reports that Kenny MacAskill has called for an inquiry into the Scottish Government's role in the affair, alleging there was a conspiracy against Salmond. The claims add to ongoing tensions within the independence movement following the former First Minister's death.
Sources used: "Sunday Mail", "Daily Record", "Daily Mail" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
