THE Crown Office has said there will be no investigation into claims made by David Davis suggesting there may have been a criminal conspiracy against Alex Salmond.

However, prosecutors are still considering whether to probe how the former Brexit Secretary came into possession of confidential material he made public in the Commons on Tuesday night.

Davis used parliamentary privilege to reveal “whistleblower” information about the fall out of the Scottish Government’s unlawful investigation into complaints against Salmond and to claim Nicola Sturgeon misled Holyrood - an accusation she has repeatedly denied.

He alleged he had been passed messages which pointed to “a criminal conspiracy” by senior SNP figures to remove Salmond from public life and even have him imprisoned.

READ MORE: Alex Salmond complainer dismisses David Davis’s claims as ‘fundamentally untrue’

During an adjournment debate Davis told the Commons: “No single sequence of texts is going to provide conclusive proof of what the whistleblower described as a ‘criminal conspiracy’, but it does show a very strong prima facie case, which demands further serious investigation.

“By which I mean, at the very least, a thorough review of all the emails and other electronic records for the relevant personnel at all relevant times.”

Following the claims, the SNP MP Kenny MacAskill, who served as justice secretary in Salmond’s government, wrote on Twitter yesterday: “So are Crown Office going to instruct Police Scotland to interview David Davis MP regarding leaked documents? Perhaps the Crown Agent can advise.”

Regarding the substance of Davis's claims a spokesman for the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) told The National this morning "there was no evidential basis to support the instruction of a criminal investigation".

He said: “The material at issue was gathered and considered by Police Scotland who routinely assess information for the presence of criminal conduct.

“The Crown are satisfied that having regard to the full messages in the context of other messages and the entire evidence in the case there is no evidential basis to support the instruction of a criminal investigation.

“In all matters relating to the investigation and prosecution of Alex Salmond, and in subsequent issues, COPFS has acted with impartiality and fairness to apply the law professionally, independently and in the public interest.

“Where appropriate the Crown has taken steps to protect the administration of justice and the rights of all those involved in the criminal proceedings.”

Asked if there were inquiries to find out how Davis came into possession of the confidential documents, he added: "We are considering if further investigation is required, so not underway."

Davis said the messages showed three senior members of the SNP, including the First Minister's husband, the party chief executive Peter Murrell, were part of a “concerted effort” to encourage police complaints against Salmond in late 2018.

The Holyrood inquiry, set up to find how what went wrong in the government's investigation into the complaints, has the same material, which was downloaded from a senior SNP employee's phone for the former First Minister’s criminal trial.

Salmond was given the material as part of his defence but the judge Lady Dorrian did not allow it to be used in the trial.

MSPs received messages but did not make them public as they said they “were safe spaces for confidential support”, rather evidence of a conspiracy.

Salmond has been threatened with prosecution if he makes them public himself, as they were obtained solely for the purpose of his trial defence.

Davis said he was making the information public because the Holyrood inquiry into the Scottish Government’s mishandling of the complaints had been frustrated by Holyrood’s limited powers.

Asked about the claims during the coronavirus briefing yesterday, the First Minister said she “strongly” denies the allegations.

She said: “Other than to say that I strongly refute [sic] the suggestions and insinuations of David Davis in the House of Commons last night, I am not going to have this Covid briefing sidetracked by the latest instalment of Alex Salmond’s conspiracy theory. I have given eight hours of evidence to the parliamentary committee looking into this.

"They are now able to assess all of the evidence they’ve taken, including, I’m sure, the evidence they have in relation to the suggestions and claims made by David Davis last night.

"They have a job of work to do, now, I’m going to allow them to do that job of work and, in the meantime I’m going to get on with my job.”