Alex Salmond’s estate has been forced to seek the equivalent of bankruptcy over the costs of court action taken during the former first minister’s later life.
Mr Salmond successfully sued the Scottish Government, winning £512,000, after it was found the process in handling two harassment complaints against him by civil servants was “tainted with apparent bias”.
He later was acquitted of a raft of sexual misconduct charges at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Mr Salmond’s former lawyers at Levy and McRae are acting for his wife Moira in winding up his estate.
While it was “a matter of great satisfaction” for Mr Salmond that he won both cases, the costs have resulted in his lawyers seeking to appoint a trustee in sequestration, who will be entrusted with the assets remaining in Mr Salmond’s estate.
David McKie, a senior partner at the firm and the former first minister’s lawyer, said: “The step of appointing a Trustee in Sequestration is a very unfortunate one, but is also necessary, taken to protect her interests and those of creditors.
“It is a matter of profound regret that Alex had to invest so much time and money in clearing his name.
“But most people will understand that faced with such attacks and an unlawful process brought against him, there was no choice for Alex but to defend himself with every resource available to him.
“This matter will now rightly be passed to the Accountant in Bankruptcy and, if appointed, the new Trustees in Sequestration.”
Mr McKie added: “We were instructed by Alex Salmond throughout the years of his successful cases in the High Court and Court of Session.
“It was a matter of great satisfaction for him, and for Moira, that he was successful in exposing the unlawful conduct of the Scottish Government and then clearing his name over criminal allegations in the highest courts in Scotland.
“But that success came at a huge cost – both in terms of the strain imposed on him personally and in terms of the financial pressure which funding that process of vindication imposed.”
The final years of Mr Salmond’s life were marred by both cases.
The former first minister later decided to take action against the Scottish Government – naming his protegee and former first minister Nicola Sturgeon and former permanent secretary Leslie Evans in the case – over its handling of the complaints against him.
