Rather, she said, the messages were between loyal supporters expressing “deep shock” and “women who considered themselves victims of his behaviour” who were “seeking support and comfort from each other.”
Sturgeon accuses Salmond of trying to “distort and weaponise” genuine shock or trauma in a way that was “truly disgraceful,” adding “it strikes at the heart of why I find it so hard to forgive him”.
“A conspiracy against Alex would have needed a number of women deciding to concoct false allegations, without any obvious motive for doing so.
“It would then have required criminal collusion between them, senior ministers and civil servants, the police and the Crown.”
This, she says, was “a fabrication, the invention of a man who wasn’t prepared to reflect honestly on his own conduct.”
Reflecting on Salmond’s death, while attending a conference in the North Macedonian city of Ohrid, Sturgeon writes that the emotions she felt suggested she had not come to terms with their estrangement.
“I know I will never quite escape the shadow he casts, even in death”, she concludes.