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A former SNP MP said she spoke to a Nicola Sturgeons staff member about alleged sexual harassment by Alex Salmond when he was prime minister.
Natalie McGarry claimed she asked the manager of Ms Sturgeons’ office to convey concerns about Mr Salmond’s behavior to the then Deputy Prime Minister, according to The Scotsman.
Ms McGarry, the Glasgow East MP between 2015 and 2017, allegedly made the allegations on her private Twitter profile last month.
The Scotsman said she expected Ms Sturgeon to stop Mr Salmond in his tracks, after informing a member of Ms Sturgeon’s staff of an incident that allegedly occurred in late 2013.
Ms McGarry says she informed the staff member in early 2014 of the sexual harassment allegation three years before Ms Sturgeon said she first became aware of any alleged inappropriate behavior from her predecessor.
The prime ministers’ spokesperson denied the allegations and said the first Ms Sturgeon was aware of the allegations against Mr Salmond in November 2017.
Natalie McGarry with Alex Salmond in January 2014 (David Cheskin / PA)
Mr Salmond was the subject of a Scottish Government investigation but he successfully challenged the legality of this process and was awarded a maximum payout of 512,250 after the case was conceded.
At the Court of Session, Lord Pentland described the investigation as illegal and tainted with apparent bias due to previous contact between investigator Judith Mackinnon and two of the women who brought the complaint.
Mr Salmond, who now heads the Alba party, was later cleared of 13 counts of sexual harassment by a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh.
During Holyrood’s subsequent investigation into the Scottish Government’s botched handling of harassment complaints, Ms Sturgeon insisted under oath that she only became aware of the complaints and the investigation in 2017.
However, Ms McGarry, who is awaiting a new trial after being accused of hijacking 25,000 people from pro-independence groups, claimed that a member of Ms Sturgeons’ team was informed in early 2014 and should have informed her boss. .
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According to the tweets revealed to The Scotsman, she wrote: Here’s a story. An absolute story. And I remained silent until after this election.
I was aware of one of the worst public service allegations against Alex Salmond in early 2014. It happened in late 2013.
I can’t guarantee [they] Nicola Sturgeon said, but I actively told this person to do it. It had to be taken care of.
If, as a person outside the press or the public service, I was aware of [it], it was over there. And the DFam [sic] had to stop the FM in its tracks. I didn’t hear or ask anything.
In another tweet posted on May 9, the former MP repeated the allegation.
She said: I voted SNP. In fact, I hate them on so many levels. I spoke to the director of the Nova Scotia office about one of Alex Salmond’s major cases in the public service in early 2014.
Asked this person to tell NS. I can’t swear this person told NS. But this person should have.
The former MP has been suspended from the SNP over allegations that she has turned 25,000 people away from a regional association of the SNP and the Women for Independence group, which she denies.
The Scottish Parliament committee set up to examine the government’s failure to legally investigate Mr Salmond also questioned Ms Sturgeons on when she first became aware of the allegations.
His report said: The committee finds it hard to believe that the Prime Minister was not aware of any concerns about inappropriate behavior on the part of Mr Salmond until November 2017.
If she had such knowledge, then she should have acted upon it. If she had such knowledge, then she misled the committee.
Reacting to the allegations, Scottish Conservative Chief Whip Stephen Kerr said: If these allegations turn out to be true, the Prime Minister will have to answer other serious questions.
The public deserves to know the full truth about all the reports the Prime Minister has received regarding Alex Salmond’s alleged behavior and when she was made aware of them.
A spokesperson for Ms Sturgeon denied Ms McGarrys’ allegations and said: As the Prime Minister has already made it very clear, she was not aware of these concerns until November 2017.
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