And next it's Alex Salmond

Jane there have been some quite unkind posts about him which suggest he is being judged.

Jabberwok are you reading the same posts as me? Nobody has said that he's guilty. It's sub judice so we are being careful what we say.
If you Google the union issues you'll find them easily enough.

So that's it. A.S is guilty of all charges before he even comes to trial?! Why bother, Gransnetters as judge and jury is all that is needed!

I agree with those who think it is wrong to pass judgement before it has gone to court. We do know of people whose lives have been drastically damaged by false claims so I think we should wait and see.

I do have some difficulty with people bringing up 'sexual assault' several years later when their complaint is that a man touched them on their bottom, arm or other such fairly innocent body parts. I think DH must have touched people's backs when ushering them through doors at times.

I totally support anyone who has genuinely been assaulted but think that when claims are proved to be false (as in that Croydon young man's case) the claimant should be named and taken to court for trying to pervert the course of justice. It is simply wrong to allege a crime because you want to punish an innocent person.

Agree Jane - our Mr Salmond is very definitely a Marmite character.

This all came out much earlier this year. Its got nothing to do with the election. I'm in a similar position to SirChenjin. There's a lot more I could say.
Check union comments on his time in office BTW.
Goodness knows where they'll find an impartial jury in Scotland!

If it's deemed that a trial hasn't been fair due to too much information being out in the public domain before and during the trial itself, this can result in a guilty verdict being judged unsafe on appeal, and the whole thing being thrown out.

Such an outcome is a disaster for the victims who may have to face going through the whole thing again.

Look at Cliff Richard, trial by media before charges were ever filed, and in the end they never were.

Easy to see why victims think they won’t be believed given some of the comments on here.

I think predatory men have an instinct about who they will be able to intimidate especially if they have the power to dismiss or promote individuals.

Once all this information is out in public it’s hard to see how a fair trial can be possible though.

I was thinking that both sides should have anonymity but that smacks of secret trials which isn’t good either. No easy answer is there?

Misogynists don’t want to educate themselves, they just want to carry on blaming and hating women. It’s whistling in the wind - that’s why I only posted FFS because I know there’s not a hope in hell of engaging in sensible debate with posts like that. What is that makes some women hate other women so much?

Totally with you on that Scj

I think we need to "reserve judgement" in this case until any evidence is presented in court.

As for wondering why someone would wait before making a complaint - in a lot of cases the alleged abuser is in a position of power, either through wealth or position, and we have often heard accusers saying they thought they would not be believed.

I’ll not tell you why I didn't complain at the time because it’s a public forum and I don’t want to post really personal stuff on here.

Suffice to say, people who are sexually abused or assaulted have very good reasons for not reporting it until long after the event - there’s lot online about it if you want to educate yourself.

Jabber FFS - I despair.

This is so troubling ... we have seen accused men be found innocent, after Court Proceedings (Geoffrey Rush being an example) and many terrible men found guilty.

I wonder if it’s best, to say nothing until the investigation and legal proceedings are concluded.

I am very aware of the awfulness of sexual assault and sex crimes and the difficulty of getting cases to Court. I have some relevant personal experience and would never want to under estimate the impact on the victim.

Fennel, I'm with you. There comes a point when it is damaging. When the Saville and Harris news broke , I avoided.

Luckygirl I agree...the logistics of that confused me too ?

Innocent until proven guilty seems a hollow aspiration these days. As in all these cases the actual offense always seems to be years old which makes you wonder why on earth weren't complaints made at the time or at least soon afterwards?! I'm no fan of Alex Salmond, but, until there is catagoric proof of wrong doing I will certainly reserve judgement.

Seems to be no end to the sleaze in high places at present. It would appear having a public persona gives you the freedom to behave badly. It's a shame we don't hear more about the decent, hard working MPs there must be some.

Head in the sand? But I don't want to know any more.
Too many of these disgusting stories.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Like SirChenjin I know people who have worked for AS and found him arrogant, patronising and with very little respect for anybody (all SNP activists) subordinate to him. Remind you of anybody?

Eeeuuww, even the thought.

Why is it that some men think they're God's gift ?

Interesting that the reaction from SNP stalwarts is to suggest that there’s some kind of election related conspiracy.

No credulity should be stretched. Women and men are entitled to change their mind at any point during the sexual proceedings and the other person must respect that. If they don’t then they’ll find themselves in the same position as AS is and rightly so.

Interestingly, I know a fair few people who have spent time in his company and have no problem whatsoever believing that he’s capable of the charges. Their opinion of him were that he’s a very charismatic man with a very high opinion of himself, who surrounds himself by people who admire him greatly and who enjoys his power. However, given the very low rates of successful prosecutions in these types of cases I strongly suspect he’ll be found not guilty or not proven.

MawB that made me feel rather nauseous!

Luckygirl I'm not sure and he doesn't look that fit, although he is quite hefty.
I suppose if he was wearing a kilt it would be easier!

I too have met him on a number of occasions, and didn’t ever feel uncomfortable. I don’t see all the charges being pursued, maybe like these two -

Sexual assault: Salmond is said to have touched a woman's arms and hips over her clothes at Ego nightclub in Edinburgh in either December 2010 or 2011.

Sexual assault: He allegedly touched a woman's leg over her clothes in a car travelling between Holyrood Road and Waverley Station in Edinburgh on February 9, 2011.