ALEX Salmond has accused Nicola Sturgeon of "many and obvious" failures of leadership, saying that the fallout from the unlawful handling of harassment complaints against him had undermined "the system of government in Scotland”.

In an opening statement before being probed by MSPs on Holyrood's harassment inquiry, the former First Minister also suggested his successor wasn't best placed to take Scotland towards independence. 

He said the move to becoming an independent country “must be accompanied by institutions whose leadership is strong and robust and capable of protecting each and every citizen from arbitrary authority".

He told MSPs that the inquiry was not about him, but about a government "whose actions are no longer true to the principles of openness, accountability and transparency, which are the core principles on which the Scottish Parliament was founded".

MSPs investigating the Scottish Government’s flawed probe into allegations of misconduct made against Salmond by two civil servants.

He had the exercise set aside in January 2019, with a judicial review declaring it “unlawful” and “tainted by bias”. The Government’s botched handling ultimately cost the taxpayer half a million pounds.

At a later criminal case the ex-SNP leader was found not guilty on multiple counts of sexual assault.

At the start of a four hour session at the committee, Salmond reminded the MSPs that they were investigating "the conduct of ministers, the permanent secretary, civil servants, and special advisors."

He added: "It also requires to shine a light on the activities of the Crown Office, and to examine the unacceptable conduct of those who appear to have no understanding of the importance of separation of party, and government and prosecution authorities, and indeed of the rule of law itself. 

“It was the government who were found to have acted unlawfully, unfairly and tainted by apparent bias. 

“I know that the First Minister asserts that I have to prove a case. I don't, that has already been done. There have been two court cases, two judges, one jury.” 

“It's the Scottish Government, a government, which has already admitted to behaving unlawfully, who are under examination,” he added.

The ex-SNP leader said he had kept his silence, watching with “growing frustration over the last six months” as the committee was “systematically deprived of the evidence it has legitimately sought.” 

He added: “Indeed, I'm just about your only witness who has been actively trying to present you with evidence, as opposed to withholding it. 

“As we saw this week, even after it's published it is then unpublished by intervention of a Crown Office who should not be questioning the will of Parliament.”

Salmond also criticised Sturgeon’s comments at her daily coronavirus briefing on Wednesday, when she was asked about how the row has failed the initial complainants.

She said: “The behaviour they complained of was found by a jury not to constitute criminal conduct and Alex Salmond is innocent of criminality, but that doesn’t mean that the behaviour they claimed didn’t happen, and I think it’s important that we don’t lose sight of that.” 

Salmond said he “watched in astonishment”. 

“The First Minister of Scotland used a Covid press conference, a Covid press conference, to effectively question the result of a jury,” he said. 

“Still, I said nothing. Well today, that changes.“

Salmond told the committee he had “no incentive or advantage in revisiting the hurt and shock of the last few years from a personal perspective, or indeed from the perspective of two complainants failed by the government, and then forced directly against their express wishes into a criminal process.“

He said: “For two years and six months this has been a nightmare. In fact, I've every desire to move on, to turn the page, to resist talking yet again about a series of events which have been amongst the most wounding that any person can face. 

“But the reason I'm here today is because we can't turn that page, nor move on until the decision making which is undermining the system of government in Scotland is addressed.

“The competence and professionalism of the civil service matters. The independence of the Crown Office as acting in the public interest matters.

"Acting in accordance with legal advice matters. Concealing evidence from the courts matters.

"The duty of candour of public authorities matters. Democratic accountability through Parliament matters.

"Suppressing evidence from parliamentary committees matters. And yes, ministers telling the truth to Parliament matters. 

“The day such things come to not matter would be a dark and dangerous one for Scotland. 

“Collectively, these events shine a light on a government, whose actions are no longer true to the principles of openness, accountability and transparency, which are the core principles on which the Scottish Parliament was founded. I remember. I was there.

“The failures of leadership are many and obvious. And yet not a single person has taken responsibility, or a single resignation. Not a single sacking.” 

Salmond said it was wrong to say that the failures of government and the Crown Office “mean that Scotland is in danger of becoming a field state.”

“The Scottish civil servant hasn't failed, its leadership has failed. The Crown Office hasn't failed, its leadership has failed. Scotland hasn't failed, its leadership has failed. 

“So the importance of this inquiry is for each and every one of us to help put this right. “

He added: “When this inquiry ends, neutered though it may be, I'll consider that I have discharged my duty as a citizen, as a former First Minister. It will then be for others to consider their own positions  in the light of what this committee decides.

“This inquiry, in my opinion, is a chance to assert what type of Scotland we are trying to create. Few would now dispute that our country is a better place for achieving our parliament.

"However, the move to independence, which I've sought all my political life and continue to seek, must be accompanied by institutions whose leadership is strong and robust and capable of protecting each and every citizen from arbitrary authority. 

“Such a principle is a central component of the rule of law that matters to every person in Scotland, as much as it always has done. It is the bedrock of our democracy of justice and fairness.”