Well wow, Alex Salmond found not guilty of all but one charge which was not proven. To say I never saw this coming would be an understatement, I know from the excellent Grouse Beater blog that there was zero evidence presented by the accusers, but I was still skeptical of the Courts.
A million words will be written by more informed and literate people than myself over the coming days, weeks, and months but I agree with the initial reaction of Joanna Cherry SNP MP.
I’m not so sure Alex Salmond will want back in the SNP after this last two years and being, what appeared to many, held out to dry by the party which has a long sad history of hanging people out to dry.
Joanna Cherry is calling for an investigation by the party into this whole sorry affair, I agree but it would have to be independent and not involve Nicola Sturgeons husband and party Chief Exec Peter Murrell but there are certainly questions needing answered.
There is also the issue that Nicola Sturgeon may have misled parliament as to when she knew about the allegations against Alex Salmond as the court noted that the First Minister knew about the concerns earlier than she told parliament. If this is in fact true there will be demands for Nicola Sturgeon to resign which will delight the unionists.
As many who read this blog know I have had serious reservations about the direction of the SNP for a long time, that it was more interested in everything but independence and that I didn’t think Nicola Sturgeon should lead the independence debate no matter how good a First Minister she has been.
Today leaves a huge cloud hanging over the party. I am delighted for Alex Salmond and his wife whom little consideration has been given in the media during this trial. I hope that Alex Salmond decides to get back involved in politics, we badly need him and I also hope there is a clear out of the current leadership of the party, the members will never have a better opportunity than the next few months to get the YES campaign back on track.
grumpyscottishman.wordpress.com 
THIS WAS A STINKY TRIAL AND A WASTE OF PUBLIC MONEY
Robert
I was surprised following the various blogs that there was not one bit of evidence presented by the prosecution and the accusers being in the WhatsApp group with the full knowledge of the leadership of the SNP made it stink a bit. More will come out in time but as I’ve blogged before there is something rotten in the SNP and if it’s not removed then we need a new party.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
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Investigation must take place. The people involved have to leave the SNP and the civil service.
Gordie
There certainly needs to be an official investigation into the actions of the civil service and the Police, as well as, an investigation into how the party handled the whole thing. I am glad he was found innocent of all charges and as I followed Grouse Beater and Craig Murray I just didn’t think he was guilty at all although the media tried it’s best to say he was. I don’t know if heads will roll but no doubt there will be some who will need to consider their poition and while not a member of the SNP I suspect there needs to some change in the executive after this.
Thanks for commenting. Bruce
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Interesting that he never said he hadn’t been a serial groper with a reputation, just that he hadn’t been guilty of the serious charges laid against him. If you were a female civil servant or party worker, would you like to get stuck in a lift with wee Eck?
George
I suppose as we weren’t there we will never know. From what I read the party and the women handled the allegations all wrong, they should have went to the Police straight away surely and leaving it for years in some cases didn’t look good. There was also the fact the jury just didn’t believe them and it was a majority female jury who got to hear all the facts. All we can do is believe the jury and accept that he is innocent of the charges, he could be a bit thick in how he did things or behaved but the court has said he is innocent. I was never convinced when I started to read the information and I know my wife was very sceptical of the women as she was following the case, she didn’t think it added up very well and how they dealt with it wasn’t how she would have but again we can only go on what we read. I do think there are questions to be answered by the party though as it certainly looks like it was an orchestrated witch hunt against him.
Thanks for commenting. Bruce
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I have to fully agree with your take on the case Bruce and to paraphrase Robert Nugent, The Whole Thing Stank. Not just how the Scottish Government handled the case but the involvement of more shady agencies. The removal of Craig Murray from the queue being a prime example. No doubt, there will be fallout.
CapnAndy
Yeah it doesn’t look good at all and how it was handled was not good at all, it left a lot open to look like an attack on the man for political reasons. The jury reached a verdict though based on what they heard and said he was innocent of the charges, we will have to trust that even though personally I am always sceptical of our court system. The SNP and NS will have questions to answer though and if they get that wrong again then the party I suspect will suffer, a lot might depend on what AS discloses in the coming months but from my point of view, and as I have blogged, the party have lost their focus and that being independence. It also seems to have been hijacked by special interest groups and things like GRA are going to cost it big time. They are still the best avenue for independence but there maybe does need to be an alternative party for YES voters, irrespective of what people like James Kelly say, an alternative avenue for our political beliefs is not a bad thing even if it means it takes a little longer. Personally I have always thought that NS is a good First Minister but not leader of the party or the leader of the debate, she is all process for me and not adventurous in how she fights the fight, we can’t win by playing British rules politics.
Thanks for commenting. Bruce
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so it should just be the SNP members who decide the Frist Minister?
Anon
It’s the members who choose the party leader and MSPs who choose the First Minister from those who stand for the position.
Thanks for commenting. Bruce
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Some commentators have pointed out that all the accusers are very close to Nicola Sturgeon. A tight-knit ring of women with an agenda. Some suggest the agenda might have been to ruin the man – in case he ventured back into Scottish politics and the next Independence campaign. This is the stuff movies are made of. But is the plot a plausible one? Actually, I think yes.
Bill
I suspect that there are some in top positions within the party where independence is not there no 1 priority. Just look at the Brexit nonsense for 3 years and now GRA. I think there is something to the accusations and it will be interesting if AS does decide to fight back after the coronavirus nightmare is out the way.
Thanks for commenting and stay safe.
Bruce
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