Sturgeon -v- Salmond. This is going to be very interesting. Is the SNP finished? And what impact on the Scots regarding Indy2? ?

I’ve been following with interest, as I think there are lots of lessons here about governance for all the devolved governments, not just for Scotland, and it should ultimately make for a system with all the checks and balances in place so it doesn’t happen again. I hope Welsh Government are watching closely.

One thing that isn’t clear to me is why it happening now, is it just coincidence that it’s only two months before the elections because of delays in process, or has that been orchestrated in some way?

It seems to me that Salmond was looking to come out of retirement again which was the catalyst as the top officials of the SNP, including NS, do not want him back so “preventive” measures were taken which have backfired.

I suspect its more of a series of cock ups/getting responses wrong rather than an actual campaign to get rid of him.
However, his smoking gun, the suggestion that the committee ask his lawyers for the information they hold is interesting.

I don't think that's going to happen UG.
People support independence and that's bigger than individual personalities.
The 'core support' will not be giving up on independence because of some individuals' actions.

That’s true enough FarNorth but it will make other voters think twice about voting for independence perhaps.

Marydoll Your thoughts chime with mine. Those women that complained have been abandoned, it seems. He does not look like an innocent man to me. I think he has played the game of politics over this affair like a master, he has carefully kept his mouth shut for months, and then the "will he, won't he" attend the committee meeting, has built up the expectation of mayhem. His performance when he has now appeared looked staged and rehearsed to me. I have never voted SNP and have never wanted separation. However I am very tempted to vote for them this time round if only to show my support for Nicola Sturgeon who has been a consummate leader through the pandemic. There are a lot of things to be tackled here in Scotland, than can only be done from a Scottish centre. I think English voters could do worse than think about regional governance.

It will be interesting to see how Nicola Sturgeon plays it next week at the enquiry. Don’t think it’s good enough for her to say she knew nothing about the complaints against Salmond until April 2018 as this could make her look incompetent and is maybe unbelievable.... however this is what she still claims . This why Salmond wants more evidence released. She is riding high in the polls and is very popular ... wonder if some people are having doubts about her integrity now . She always seemed strong and reliable until now.

Salmond's point is that he's been through two courts, civil and criminal and wasn't found guilty. What is worrying is all the cover ups and unnecessary blocking and defying of parliamentary votes to produce the papers. The memory stick with the police info re the search for people who might want to complain about him should be interesting. I gather it also contains the 'Vietnam' WhatsApp group texts. Really dodgy dealings. It all still stinks.
Nicola casting doubt on the jury's findings on national TV was exceptionally stupid. She must be kicking herself.

I agree Aveline ... I thought Nicola would have had more sense than to mention the jury’s findings... she seemed a bit rattled ... very unlike her .

Actually -

“Love Scotland, hate the SNP. Love Europe, hate the EU.”

Seems to be a recurring theme.

But I don't hate the EU!

What Nicola 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 that the behaviour they complained of didn’t happen and I think it’s important that we don’t lose sight of that.”

Information about the court case from the BBC website:
Mr Salmond admitted to having a "sleepy cuddle" with one complainer, and what Mr Jackson (lawyer) called "a bit of how's your father" with another - both members of his staff far younger than he, and neither of them his wife.

The defence also never really attempted to dispel the slightly raucous image of Bute House drawn by the prosecution, of exotic liquors being poured late at night after celebrity dinners and staff being invited to do paperwork in the bedroom.

In other words, what Alex may or may not have done wasn't illegal. Doesn't mean he didn't do it.

Fair comment Aveline.
It was just a generalisation really. Plus it was a good sound bite.
?

Also ... it sounds consensual Alegrias? Can’t imagine having a sleep cuddle with Himself and then saying it was inappropriate behaviour ...

Ah - the demon drink.
It has a lot to answer for.

Then read the details of the evidence and trial UG. What you have written is the crux of the matter.

The crux of my point was that she shouldn't have been saying it on a so called 'Covid briefing'. She'd refused to comment on the Salmond situation before.

My point is that she didn't cast doubt on the decision of the jury. Despite what Alex and Jim Sillars would have you believe.

But.....she shouldn’t have said anything at all about it, especially on a Covid update.

Alegrias1

What Nicola 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 that the behaviour they complained of didn’t happen and I think it’s important that we don’t lose sight of that.”

Information about the court case from the BBC website:
Mr Salmond admitted to having a "sleepy cuddle" with one complainer, and what Mr Jackson (lawyer) called "a bit of how's your father" with another - both members of his staff far younger than he, and neither of them his wife.

The defence also never really attempted to dispel the slightly raucous image of Bute House drawn by the prosecution, of exotic liquors being poured late at night after celebrity dinners and staff being invited to do paperwork in the bedroom.

In other words, what Alex may or may not have done wasn't illegal. Doesn't mean he didn't do it.

Nicola Sturgeon is of course correct in the quote above.
Salmon wants to destroy her.

Lemongrove ... I agree. The Covid updates should be for Covid and nothing else .

Probably not Lemon.

But if key actors in the case can bend the truth of what someone says this time, maybe they have done that before.

I think there may well have been truth bending going on from the pair of them.Sturgeon didn’t want any unsavoury goings on to taint her ( friendship with Salmond) in her political career, and he is angry at being treated badly by her.
He says that she misled Parliament in what and when she knew things, she has had his evidence redacted and he cannot mention key things.

Peter Murrell, his wife Nicola Sturgeon and her legal team must be getting their ducks in a row this weekend.

There’s a lot to unpick.

This, from Wikipedia:

“In December 2020, during a committee hearing on "the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints" Murrell in his oral evidence gave contradictory information regarding whether he was present during a meeting between the FM Nicola Sturgeon and former FM Alex Salmond.

At first, he denied being at his home where the meeting was held, saying "I was not at home" but then later stated that "I arrived home not long before the meeting ended".

He also appeared to give contradictory evidence regarding whether he uses the social media app Whatsapp, stating that "I am not on WhatsApp; it is not a social media platform that I use".

However, he later clarified in written evidence that "“I do not use WhatsApp. There are several messaging apps on my phone that I don’t use. This includes profiles on Facebook Messenger, LinkedIn, Instagram, Slack, Skype, and WhatsApp, none of which I use". Peter Murrell's whatsapp account however appears to show that he last used whatsapp on the 22nd of November, 2020.”

I watched that interview on tv. He looked most uncomfortable. Went pink a few times.

“Taxi for Ms Sturgeon?”

There's certainly lots to come out yet Lemon. One thing we do know though, Alex Salmond has no hesitation in telling a lie about the First Minister if it makes her look bad and furthers his case.