SNP Chief Executive: 'I did not express myself well in texts about Alex Salmond'

SNP chief executive Peter Murrell has admitted he "did not express myself well'' in text messages concerning Alex Salmond.

Mr Murrell, the husband of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, also said he wishes he had "expressed myself more appropriately''.

But he said his messages had been presented to the public in a way which suggested a meaning "they do not in reality have," and there is an ongoing police investigation into how they had been obtained.

The messages, sent after Mr Salmond had been charged with various offences, reportedly said it is a "good time to be pressuring'' police, and that the "more fronts'' the former first minister is "having to fire-fight on the better''.

A letter from the SNP chief executive to Holyrood's Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints was published on Wednesday.

The committee is examining how the Scottish Government dealt with sexual harassment allegations against Mr Salmond, after a court ruled the government's investigation to be "unlawful''.

The letter, Mr Murrell's second submission to the inquiry, said he and the SNP have co-operated with the committee "to the fullest extent possible''.

In response to an earlier request, he said he had spoken to all 23 SNP staff members who report to him and none held information relevant to the committee.

He said no SNP staff had been aware of concerns which could have led to complaints under the Scottish Government procedure prior to them becoming public in August 2018.

Discussing the text messages between himself and an unnamed individual, he said they had been "presented in a way that suggests a meaning that they do not in reality have''.

Mr Murrell said: "Acknowledging this context and the legal constraints that apply, and notwithstanding the fact that the messages do not relate to the committee's remit, I hope it will be helpful to the committee to provide an explanation of them.

"The messages were sent the day after Mr Salmond had been charged with a number of serious offences.

"In the aftermath of this, the SNP was contacted by individuals who had specific, personal questions in relation to that criminal case. My intention was to advise that their questions should be addressed to the police and not the SNP.

"I acknowledge that I did not express myself well but I suggest that in the context of such a criminal case, directing people to the police was the only responsible thing to advise.

"In relation to the second message, this has been presented as following on immediately from the first. That is inaccurate.

"However, my intended meaning was that any and all complaints should be appropriately investigated.

"The tone of it is a reflection of the shock, hurt and upset that I, and so many others in the SNP, felt that day given the events that had unfolded in court the previous day.

"As most people will appreciate, the immediacy of text messages lend themselves to informal, shorthand forms of expression but, even so, I would wish on reflection to have expressed myself more appropriately.''

Nicola Sturgeon was asked about the messages at First Minister's Questions last week, but said: "I do not think it is reasonable for me to be asked questions about things that other people might or might not have done.''

SNP MP Kenny MacAskill has said the messages were "entirely inappropriate'' and any attempt to influence criminal investigations was "unacceptable''.

Mr Salmond was acquitted of 13 charges including sexual assault, attempted rape and indecent assault following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in March.

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