Alex Salmond

This inquiry is not about me. I've already established the illegality of the actions of the Scottish government in the Court of Session, and I've been acquitted of all criminal charges by a jury in the highest court in the land. These are both the highest courts in the land, the highest civil court and the highest criminal court.  The remit for this inquiry is about the actions of others. It's an investigation into the conduct of ministers, the permanent secretaries, civil servants and special advisers.

Alex Salmond has been cleared of sexually assaulting nine women. The former Scottish first minister released this statement outside court: 'Ladies and gentlemen, just over a year ago, when we finished the Civil Action and Judicial Review, I said I had great faith in the court system in Scotland. That faith has been much reinforced today. So I'd like to start by explaining that faith and thanking the jury for their decision. I'd also like to thank the court service who have been courteous beyond limit over the last two weeks and for the police officers who've manned this trial under these extraordinary circumstances.  Obviously, above all, I'd like to thank my friends and family for standing by me.

I truly love the SNP and the wider independence movement in Scotland. They have been the defining commitment of my life. But today I have written to the National Secretary of the party resigning my membership. I read carefully Nicola Sturgeon's statement on Sunday and watched her television interview of a couple of days ago. She made it clear that the SNP have never received a single complaint about my personal conduct in my many decades of membership. And the Scottish Government have confirmed that they did not have any such complaint before this January, more than three years after I left office as first minister. That is the record of 30 years of public service. So let me be clear again. I refute these two complaints of harassment and I absolutely reject any suggestion of criminality.