Alex Cole-Hamilton has said he regrets being part of the Holyrood inquiry into harassment allegations against Alex Salmond as it “probably harmed and upset the women at the heart of it more”.
The new leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats was a member of the high-profile Scottish Parliament committee examining the Scottish Government’s botched handling of complaints against the former First Minister.
The committee found the Scottish Government’s handling of complaints was “seriously flawed” and women had been let down.
In tense sessions Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon were both being scrutinised in separate day-long evidence sessions, among other senior Scottish political figures including Sturgeon’s husband, SNP chief executive Peter Murrell.
But Cole-Hamilton told the Scotland on Sunday newspaper: “At the end of the day, I don’t think we achieved a great deal. I think that it probably harmed and upset the women at the heart of it more, even more, if that’s possible. And I regret my involvement in it. I would rather not have been part of it.”
He said he found the experience “stressful”, adding: “It was high pressure. I mean, it took up so much oxygen, so much time. But also, I’d been supporting a complainer privately who approached me, and I could see what every twist and turn of it was doing to her.
“And I thought, well, that must be happening to all of the women at the heart of this. And you know, I think when you realise the process, which is taking twists and turns and subject to massive media speculation and intrigue, and you see privately the visceral human cost of that. It was just… it was awful.
The inquiry was set up after Salmond won more than £500,000 in a civil case after a judge ruled the Scottish Government’s handling of an investigation, launched after two female civil servants complained about his behaviour, was “unlawful” and “tainted by apparent bias”.
The committee began taking evidence after the outcome of a separate criminal trial, where a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh acquitted him of all 13 charges, including sexual assault, indecent assault and attempted rape, in March 2020.
But Cole-Hamilton also said Salmond should not now be leader of the Alba Party, as confirmed at the new party’s first conference in Greenock on Saturday.
He said: “I think that’s the worst part of it. I mean, Alex Salmond is a man desperate to clear his reputation.
“I’m not sure that he deserves that opportunity, because irrespective of court judgments, and the rest of it, this is the man who has admitted some terrible, terrible behaviour and caused a lot of upset and heartache to women who deserve to be able to move on with their lives.”
