Sturgeon under pressure over claims that complainer's name was leaked to Salmond camp

Nicola Sturgeon has denied that the identity of a woman who accused Alex Salmond of sexual assault was leaked to him, but refused to say whether she ordered an investigation into the "astonishing" claim.

The First Minister came under intense pressure at Holyrood on Thursday over the allegation that an official in her government had committed an "extraordinary breach of confidentiality" by passing the name of a civil servant to Geoff Aberdein, Mr Salmond's former chief of staff.

The incident is claimed to have happened before the First Minister spectacularly fell out with her ex-mentor.

Mr Salmond, who is to give evidence to a Scottish Parliament committee investigating the affair on Friday, has put forward the allegation in written testimony.

It is claimed to have been corroborated by other people, Ms Sturgeon was told.

The First Minister said that she did not believe that a name had been disclosed “to the very best of my knowledge” but avoided saying whether the allegation had been looked into.

Mr Salmond’s return to Holyrood on Friday afternoon, to testify to MSPs investigating an unlawful Scottish Government probe against him, will cap a remarkable week in Scottish politics in which the two once close allies have clashed furiously.

The ex-SNP leader’s lawyers were on Thursday night understood to still be in discussion with the committee about the parameters of his evidence.

Mr Salmond is understood to have been told that he cannot talk openly about the run-up to a crucial meeting with Ms Sturgeon at her home on April 2, 2018, which she has told Holyrood was the first time she knew about the investigation facing her predecessor.

He claims she knew earlier, and if it is proven Ms Sturgeon lied to MSPs, she would be expected to resign.

Mr Salmond's lawyers are understood to have challenged the edict, after the claims over the leaking of the name were aired openly in the Holyrood chamber.

“That action was certainly not about protecting the interests of the women involved,” Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour’s interim leader, said.

“It is beyond belief that anyone would tell the name of a complainant to a former chief of staff for Alex Salmond.”

She added: "it is an inconvenient fact and it is extraordinary that that name was revealed."

Ms Sturgeon accused her opponents of taking Mr Salmond’s claims “at face value”. However, pushed over whether she had personally investigated the allegation, she did not directly answer.

Ms Sturgeon was told by Willie Rennie, the Scottish LibDem leader, that a failure to investigate would have been “negligence”.

Mr Salmond will on Friday expand publicly on his claim that senior SNP and Scottish Government figures conspired to end his political career and have him imprisoned.

Ms Sturgeon has dismissed this as ridiculous and suggested it was Mr Samond’s treatment of women, rather than a vicious plot, that was the “root” of the allegations.

He was acquitted of all 13 sex assault charges at his trial last year and successfully challenged the fairness and legality of a separate Scottish Government probe against him in court.

Supporters of Ms Sturgeon have claimed voters are more concerned with the pandemic than the Salmond affair.

However, an Ipsos Mori poll, published on Thursday, found more than a fifth of SNP voters, and 36 per cent of Scots overall, said the Salmond saga had made them less favourable towards the SNP.

At Holyrood, both Ms Sturgeon and her opponents blamed each other for traducing Scotland’s democratic institutions over recent days.

The Crown Office in particular has faced major criticism after it applied pressure to the parliament to redact sections of Mr Salmond’s written evidence, a move which may restrict what he can say on Friday.

Ms Sturgeon said: “What is poisoning our democratic institutions, in my view, is politicians standing up and hurling assertions and accusations without a shred of evidence to back them up.”