Alex Salmond arrested: Former Scottish first minister detained and charged

Ex-SNP leader has been under investigation after accusations of sexual harassment, which he has strenously denied

Scotland’s former first minister Alex Salmond has been arrested and charged, police have said.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “We can confirm a 64-year-old man has been arrested and charged and a report has been sent to the procurator fiscal.”

Mr Salmond, who has been under investigation into allegations by two women that he sexually harassed them several years ago, is expected to appear in court on Thursday afternoon.

He has strenuously denied the allegations and attacked a “patently ridiculous” investigation by the Scottish government, which sent its final report to police in August last year.

Earlier this month, the 64-year-old won a legal victory when the Scottish government was found to have acted unlawfully while investigating the misconduct allegations against him.

The two sides agreed a deal in which the Scottish government conceded its investigation into Mr Salmond’s conduct had strayed outside of the rules and, as such, was unlawful.

However, the police probe into the complaints was entirely separate to the government’s investigation and continued.

Mr Salmond is still a figurehead for those Scottish Nationalist Party supporters who are pushing for an immediate rerun of the failed 2014 independence referendum.

This week, he urged his former ally Nicola Sturgeon to call for a fresh vote, saying: “Westminster’s Brexit difficulty should be Scotland’s opportunity.”

The relationship between the current first minister and her former mentor deteriorated spectacularly after the accusations of sexual harassment.

Mr Salmond accused Ms Sturgeon of deleting him from history by whitewashing his role in the 2014 independence referendum from the party website.

At the weekend, he said: “Nicola should be concentrating all her energies on the independence agenda when we will never have better circumstances.

“The Westminster political establishment is at its weakest point in my lifetime while the national movement is in good heart. There is not likely to be a better time to force the issue.”

Ms Sturgeon has promised an update on the timing of a second independence vote in “a matter of weeks”, but is currently focused on support for a Final Say referendum over Brexit.