Scotland’s former First Minister Alex Salmond arrested

Edinburgh, Jan 24 (IANS) Alex Salmond, the former First Minister of Scotland who had been under investigation over allegations of sexually harassing two women, was arrested on Thursday.

Salmond, 64, a major figure in the political landscape of his country as First Minister of Scotland between 2007 and 2014 and also leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) for two decades, was expected to appear in court later in the day, the Guardian reported.

The Scottish government sent their final report to the police in August 2018 about the allegations made by the two women who had worked with him in Bute House, the First Minister's official residence in Edinburgh.

"We can confirm a 64-year-old man has been arrested and charged and a report has been sent to the procurator," said a Police Scotland spokesman.

Salmond stood down as First Minister and SNP leader following defeat in the November 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, which he had long championed. He was replaced by current First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

He has strongly denied involvement in any criminal actions.

He sued the Scottish government over its handling of the allegations and the country's highest civil court ruled in his favour earlier this month, finding that the claims had been unlawfully handled, giving Salmond a significant legal victory, according to Efe news.

The court findings revealed that one of the senior experts in the investigation, Judith MacKinnon, had been involved in giving advice and support to the two complainants before they turned their grievances into official complaints.

The Scottish government said there had been a breach of its own rules as well as unlawful handling of the case that gave the appearance of bias.

Despite leaving the Scottish Parliament, Salmond has remained a prominent figure in both Scottish and British politics, working as a commentator and hosting a show on Russian state broadcaster RT.