FORMER First Minister and SNP leader Alex Salmond has resigned from the party.
He has released a video message titled "Salmond puts Scottish independence first" explaining his decision.
It comes amid an internal investigation by the Scottish Government into sexual harassment allegations made against Salmond, which he has strenuously denied.
He is taking the Scottish Government to court over its handling of the investigation.
In a video message posted on Twitter and YouTube, Salmond explains he was seeking to avoid a party split, and hopes to rejoin the party "as soon as I have had the opportunity to clear my name".
You can read a transcript of the video by clicking here, and our full story by clicking here.
Below is the video released by Salmond:
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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