Bring A Pointy Reckoning That Will Shudder You

Media references to Lola Salem have been disappearing all day, even though it had taken the fearless gentlemen of His Majesty’s Press until 10 October to report her court appearance on 30 September. Oxford had suspended her as long ago as June, when she was charged, and when she was either still living with Michael Gove or very recently separated from him. Gove is an active member of the House of Lords as well as the Editor of The Spectator, for which Salem was still writing on Friday, 10 days after her hearing, although all trace of her time there has now been deleted from the magazine’s own site.

Contrast the approach of that and several other outlets to this case with their treatment of the late Professor Jason Arday, who whatever else he may have been was indisputably hounded to his death for what, even if it had all been true, would have been vastly less concerning. Such persecution also contributed significantly to the early death of Alex Salmond, of whom John Ferguson writes:

One of Alex Salmond’s sex abuse accusers benefited from almost £100,000 of public money from Scottish Government agencies after she made allegations against him in court. The woman was a director of a company that received the money from two sources in the 18 months after the former First Minister’s trial.

WhatsApp messages show that the woman was visited by a senior SNP official in January 2019 and that the party’s now jailed former chief executive Peter Murrell was keen to get her permission to pass a complaint from her to police. In another message Chief Operating Officer Sue Ruddick said she hoped the woman would get “back in the game”. In court the woman said she had felt “hunted” by Salmond who she claimed had “pounced on her” after a dinner at Bute House in June 2014. Under cross examination she denied making up the allegation after defence lawyer Shelagh McCall QC suggested the woman was not at Bute House on either date she claimed to have been attacked.

Salmond was ultimately cleared of all charges against him in March 2020 and earlier this year we revealed WhatsApps which appear to show senior SNP figures conspiring against the former First Minister. He believed former SNP colleagues including Nicola Sturgeon plotted to bring him down and was suing the Scottish Government at the time his death in October 2024. The case has now been picked up by millionaire businessman Paul McManus who has said he “strongly believes” there was a plot.

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman, Stephen Kerr MSP said: “The SNP has serious questions to answer over almost £100,000 of taxpayers’ cash handed to a company linked to one of the most explosive trials in Scottish political history. Taxpayers will rightly be asking why public money was handed out and what senior SNP figures meant by getting this woman ‘back in the game’. John Swinney must get to the bottom of this and explain exactly what went on behind closed doors.”

Former SNP Justice Secretary and Salmond ally Kenny MacAskill said: “It is clear to me that a number of people at the heart of the SNP conspired against Alex and were determined to see him go to jail. There should be a public inquiry because this was an attack on our country’s democracy. This is yet more reason why we need to know the full truth of this sorry chapter. Alex Salmond was treated shamefully and Paul McManus is doing a sterling job of trying to get to the truth.”

The WhatsAPP messages we published in April covered a four month period between September 2018 and January 2019 during which an “unlawful” and “biased” Scottish Government misconduct probe against Salmond collapsed, and police began a criminal investigation. The late SNP leader went on to be cleared of 13 sexual misconduct charges at Edinburgh High Court. In a pre-trial court hearing, Salmond’s defence lawyer Gordon Jackson KC, told Lady Dorrian texts between complainants, Scottish Government officials and SNP members that raised questions about an orchestration of some of the allegations. He told Lady Dorrian the defence believed “there was a concerted effort made by people in the government to influence the process, to get it as best they could in terms of criminal prosecution”. He alleged those efforts were motivated by revenge because Salmond had won his judicial review in January 2019, after the Scottish Government admitted it had botched an internal inquiry into two sexual harassment complaints against him.

Lady Dorrian refused to allow much of that material to be used in court but allowed other messages to be admitted as evidence. The messages reveal that senior figures privately doubted their experiences amounted to criminal offences. One woman was also furious her name had been given to detectives without consent. They also show SNP management discussing attempts to round up potential complainers. As well as McManus’s legal action there has been a long running dispute between Scotland’s information commissioner David Hamilton and the Scottish Government over the release of the so called “Salmond files”. Hamilton has claimed there is a culture of secrecy within public bodies.

Timeline 

October 31, 2017

Ministers order a review of the Scottish Government’s “policies and processes for addressing inappropriate conduct” in the wake of sexual harassment scandals in politics and showbiz. This is led by permanent secretary Leslie Evans.

December 2017

Nicola Sturgeon signs off the government’s new process for dealing with complaints of sexual harassment and misconduct which can be applied to ex-ministers.

January 2018

Two female staff members make formal complaints to the Scottish Government about Alex Salmond’s conduct, dating back to when he was first minister in December 2013. An internal inquiry is established and an investigating officer appointed.

August 2018

Allegations against Salmond are made public. He announces he is launching a legal challenge and resigns from the SNP.

September 2018

Police Scotland says it has launched a probe into complaints against him.

January 8, 2019

The government concedes defeat in Salmond’s judicial review. The court declares the government’s inquiry unlawful and bias and Salmond is awarded £512,000 in legal costs.

January 24, 2019

Salmond is arrested and charged with 13 counts of sexual assault and one breach of the peace. He denies all criminality.

March 2020

The former First Minister is cleared of all charges after a trial at Edinburgh High Court.