THE BBC received hundreds of complaints after Nicola Sturgeon made comments about Alex Salmond during a Covid briefing.
According to data released by the broadcaster 244 complaints were received by BBC Scotland after the First Minister responded to questions concerning her predecessor’s written evidence to a Holyrood committee during one of her daily weekday updates on the pandemic.
She normally does not answers questions which do not have a direct bearing on the coronavirus crisis.
However, on February 24, she opted to respond to questions relating to her predecessor’s claims which included allegations the Scottish Government and Crown Office were involved in blocking the release of information in a bid to shield powerful people in the country.
“Have the tools of the state been used to protect your reputation?” the First Minister was asked.
She replied: “Emphatically not and there is not a shred of evidence to suggest that that is the case.”
READ MORE: BBC flooded with complaints about Sarah Smith’s Alex Salmond report
She added: “Alex Salmond, well, maybe, creating an alternative reality in which the organs of the state, not just me and the SNP and the civil service and the Crown Office and the police and the women who came forward were all part of some wild conspiracy against him for reasons I can’t explain. Maybe that’s easier than just accepting at the route of all this might just have been issues in his own behaviour, but that is for him to explain.”
A Holyrood inquiry was set up to establish how the Scottish Government mishandled complaints made by two civil servants against Salmond when he was First Minister.
Salmond raised a civil legal action, winning the judicial review in 2019 after the judge, Lord Pentland, ruled the Scottish Government’s investigation into the complaints was “unlawful”, “procedurally unfair” and “tainted with apparent bias”. He was awarded cost from the public purse of more than £500,000.
Salmond was later charged with sexual offences and was acquitted of all charges following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh last year.
During the same Covid briefing last week, the First Minister discussed the outcome of his trial. She said:”The behaviour complained of was found by a jury not to constitute criminal conduct and Alex Salmond is innocent of criminality. But that doesn’t mean the behaviour complained of didn’t happen.”
Jim Sillars, the former SNP deputy leader, claimed Sturgeon breached the Ministerial Code by suggesting Salmond was in the wrong despite being cleared and made a complaint to the Permanent Secretary.
Sturgeon denies breaching the Ministerial Code.
During his opening statement to the committee, Salmond criticised Sturgeon for discussing his evidence at the Covid briefing.
The BBC said complainants will receive responses in due course.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel