SUPPORTERS of Alex Salmond say he must now be allowed to rejoin the SNP.

Joanna Cherry has also called on the party to restore the former First Minister's place in the SNP's history to the “prominence it deserves”. 

Salmond quit the party in August 2018 just days after allegations of sexual misconduct were made public. 

In a statement posted on Twitter at the time, Salmond said: “I truly love the SNP and the wider independence movement in Scotland. They have been the defining commitment of my life.”

Last year there was anger from the Salmond camp when he appeared to have been airbrushed from the SNP’s website.

There was no mention of him at all in the “history” section of the party website, despite him being the SNP’s first First Minister and leading them through the 2014 independence referendum.

A spokesman for the ex-First Minister said: “Nicola should stop rewriting history and concentrate on making history by taking Scotland to independence.”

In her statement, Joanna Cherry said Salmond should be “allowed to rejoin the party without delay if that is what he wishes to do”

"His place in the party’s history must be restored to the prominence it deserves,” she added.

A number of other party colleagues agreed that it was time for the SNP to welcome Salmond back into the fold.

MP Martyn Day said he was delighted by the “positive result for my former colleague @AlexSalmond”.

He added: “I never doubted his innocence or integrity.  Billy Wolfe once told me ‘Alex will have more come backs than Bob Hope’. I’m looking forward to the next one.”

Angus Brenda MacNeil tweeted: “Glad that Alex Salmond found not guilty. A man with much more to contribute to Scotland's cause.”