ALEX Salmond has shelved plans for his tell-all book according to comments made in an online interview.
The Alba Party leader had been planning to publish his account of the sexual assault case mounted against him.
The former First Minister was accused of 13 offences against women but was acquitted on all counts after a high-profile trial in 2020.
He claimed he'd been the subject of a conspiracy involving both key SNP and Scottish Government figures and planned to reveal details in a book.
However, he's now told interviewers that the Craig Murray case proves this won't be possible.
Murray, a former UK Government ambassador, served four months of an eight-month sentence for contempt of court.
The blogger's conviction related to his coverage of Salmond's trial. Judge Lady Dorrian ruled that the coverage could lead to what is known as jigsaw identification of the four complainers.
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Sentencing Murray in May, she said: "It appears from the posts and articles that he was in fact relishing the task he set himself, which was essentially to allow the identities of complainers to be discerned — which he thought was in the public interest — in a way which did not attract sanction."
During his own trial, Salmond said the allegations against him were "deliberate fabrications for a political purpose" and suggested that information he was unable to present to the court would in time "see the light of day".
Appearing before the Scottish Parliament's Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints in 2021, he said there had been the "calculated and deliberate suppression of key evidence".
But speaking to the TweetStreet Occupied Scotland YouTube channel, Salmond said: "The Murray case rather indicates why a book — a real book — wouldn't be possible because it would be hemmed in by legal restrictions which would make it impossible to tell a story.
"We'll see what the future holds. Other means of redress are available, so I'm told."
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