ALEX Salmond has said he “seriously doubts” he will ever be on speaking terms with his successor Nicola Sturgeon again, according to a new BBC documentary series.
The pair led the SNP through the long approach to the 2014 referendum, but allegations of sexual misconduct made against Salmond while in office to both police and the Scottish Government led to a bitter split between them.
Salmond successfully took legal action against the Government for its handling of the investigation into him, while he was also cleared at the High Court in Edinburgh of allegations of sexual impropriety.
A Holyrood inquiry into the handling of complaints against Salmond called both the former first minister and Sturgeon – who was at that point still serving in the role – to testify in two marathon sessions.
Salmond accused those at the highest echelons of the Scottish Government of a plot against him, something Sturgeon called “absurd”.
In 2021, Salmond launched the Alba Party, which has spent much of its existence criticising the SNP – headed by Sturgeon – and subsequently two of her key allies in Humza Yousaf and John Swinney.
Speaking in a BBC documentary, Salmond And Sturgeon: A Troubled Union, about the fracturing of their relationship, Salmond said he was unsure it could ever be mended.
“I don’t really do hurt feelings very much … but it’s a big regret that Nicola and I are no longer on speaking terms,” he said.
“And I seriously doubt if it’s going to improve.
“Now that’s a great pity, because I did indicate that you shouldn’t say anything is forever, but that’s the way it looks and that’s just the way it’s going to be.
“We’ll just have to let the past take care of itself.”
Reflecting on her relationship with Salmond and its breakdown, Sturgeon – who unexpectedly resigned in 2023 – said he was “for a long time, a very positive force in my life”, adding: “But I think I had to learn how to be myself.”
Sturgeon also reflected on the long-running inquiry into the handling of harassment complaints by the Scottish Government, which criticised her Government – saying she was in “turmoil inside”.
The inquiry’s final report found she had misled it over a meeting with Salmond in her home in 2018, where he was left with the impression she would “intervene” in the process if necessary.
The then first minister, however, was cleared of breaching the ministerial code and beat a vote to oust her.
The saga around the handling of complaints against Salmond, which the Court of Session said was “tainted with apparent bias”, made the Scottish Government look “incompetent”, former first minister Humza Yousaf said.
The process led to Salmond being awarded more than £500,000.
The two-part series will be on BBC iPlayer from Tuesday, as well as being broadcast on the BBC Scotland channel on Tuesday and Wednesday.
