One unmistakable conclusion can be drawn from the material Alex Salmond sent to the Holyrood inquiry.
The former First Minister wants to bring down Nicola Sturgeon over her Government’s unlawful investigation into him over sexual misconduct allegations.
He is angry with his political protege and would be happy to see her drummed out of office – two months before a Holyrood election.
According to Salmond’s submission, Sturgeon misled Parliament over the debacle, breached the ministerial code of conduct and made “wholly false” claims.
He knows more than anyone the gravity of these allegations which, if upheld, would warrant an immediate resignation.
Salmond previously called for Lesley Evans, the country’s top civil servant, to consider her position. His allies also want Sturgeon’s husband, SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, and her chief of staff Liz Lloyd to leave their posts.
Salmond, who gives evidence to the inquiry tomorrow, wants to topple the House of Sturgeon.
If you listen to Team Salmond, SNP and Government figures tried to stitch him up over allegations in 2018 that he sexually harassed two female civil servants.
When the probe failed, Salmond sympathisers believe the allegations snowballed into criminal charges and a trial at the High Court.
He was acquitted.
They believe a plot was hatched in a bid to stop a political comeback by Salmond.
If you take this theory to its logical conclusion, the plotters were willing to see Salmond jailed for 10 years and branded a sex offender for life.
The reality is the reams of information provided to the Inquiry by witnesses show there is a big difference between incompetence and conspiracy.
The Scottish Government’s botched sexual misconduct probe, which cost the taxpayer over £600,000, was amateurish.
It showed some civil servants in Scotland in a poor light and officials will inevitably be the subject of heavy criticism by MSPs. Sturgeon also showed bad judgment by repeatedly meeting Salmond during the live investigation.
This amounted to special access – it is hard to imagine her meeting anyone at her home while under investigation – and the decision has dogged her.
Salmond’s evidence to the inquiry will be dominated by questions on what was discussed at the summits, and when exactly she first learned of the allegations.
All of this could have been avoided had she eyeballed her mentor and said: “I won’t talk to you about it.”
However, there is nothing in the published information proving that Sturgeon and her allies were part of a plot to do him in.
In late 2017, when concerns had been expressed about Salmond, he was a spent political force who had agreed to front a show for one of Putin’s propaganda channels.
The notion that Sturgeon, a cautious lawyer to her fingertips, decided to be part of a conspiracy to bring down a falling star requires an enormous leap of the imagination.
Nonetheless, Salmond’s noisy allies do believe a cabal of party and Government figures were behind such a fanciful scheme.
During Salmond’s seven years as First Minister, his relationship with Sturgeon was the gel which held together the SNP’s electoral success.
Scottish politics is now dominated by the bitter aftermath of their break-up.
Salmond is an existential threat to the SNP’s chances at the Holyrood election and Sturgeon’s leadership.
He seems determined she will pay a price, regardless of the political consequences.
