ANGUS Robertson has revealed he spoke to Alex Salmond about his behaviour with female staff at Edinburgh Airport.
The then First Minister denied any inappropriate actions to Robertson, then the SNP’s Westminster leader, and the matter was regarded as “resolved”.
The conversation between the two men dates to 2009 and has come to light in a letter sent by Robertson to the Holyrood inquiry into the Scottish Government's botched handling of complaints made against Salmond in 2018.
“It is probably worth taking time to address one instance where unspecified behaviour was mentioned to me,” said Robertson.
“In 2009 I was called by an Edinburgh Airport manager about Alex Salmond’s perceived 'inappropriateness' towards female staff at the airport.
“I was asked if I could informally broach the subject with Mr Salmond to make him aware of this perception. I raised the matter directly with Mr Salmond, who denied he had acted inappropriately in any way.
“I communicated back to the Edinburgh Airport manager that a conversation had happened. The matter being resolved, and without a formal complaint having been made, it was not reported further.”
Robertson, who is hoping to enter Holyrood next year as the MSP for Edinburgh Central, denied having any communications or interactions with the current First Minister, her officials or special advisers in his capacity as SNP Westminster leader about any other sexual misconduct allegations or complaints against Salmond.
Robertson, a close ally of Nicola Sturgeon, ceased to be SNP Westminster leader in 2017, when he lost his Moray seat at that year’s general election to Tory Douglas Ross.
Two civil service complaints against Salmond were made in 2018.
The inquiry is looking at how the Scottish Government botched a sexual misconduct probe into claims made against Salmond in 2018, costing taxpayers more than £512,000.
The former First Minister had the exercise overturned in a judicial review by showing it had was “tainted by apparent bias” from the start because the investigating officer appointed had ben in prior contact with his accusers.
Edinburgh Airport has come up before in the inquiry’s work.
In August, the Scottish Government’s top official, permanent secretary Leslie Evans, told MSPs she raised the issue directly with Nicola Sturgeon in November 2017.
At the time, Sky News had been investigating an alleged “incident” at the airport.
Salmond stood trial at the High Court in Edinburgh earlier this year on a series of sex charges and was acquitted of all charges.
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