FORMER First Minister Alex Salmond is suing the Scottish Government over allegations he sexually assaulted two staff members while in office.

Mr Salmond has denied claims of harassment made against him after being accused of carrying out the attacks in the First Minister’s official Edinburgh residence, Bute House, in December 2013.

The Scottish Government said it could not comment on the allegations.

A Police Scotland spokesman added: “We are not going to comment on whether an inquiry is ongoing.”

Mr Salmond issued a strongly-worded denial of the allegations and revealed he has been engaged in legal action against the Government.

He said: “For many months now, and on the advice of Senior Counsel, I have attempted to persuade the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government that she is behaving unlawfully in the application of a complaints procedure, introduced by her more than three years after I left office.

"This is a procedure so unjust that even now I have not been allowed to see and therefore to properly challenge the case against me. I have not been allowed to see the evidence.

“I have tried everything, including offers of conciliation, mediation and legal arbitration to resolve these matters both properly and amicably."This would have been in everybody’s interests, particularly those of the two complainants. All of these efforts have been rejected.

“The Permanent Secretary chose to deny me contact with any current civil servant, many of whom wished to give evidence on my behalf and access to documentation to allow me to properly challenge the complaints, all of which I refute and some of which were patently ridiculous.

"The procedure as put into operation by the Permanent Secretary is grossly unfair and therefore inevitably will lead to prejudicial outcomes.

“It is therefore with great reluctance that I have today launched a Judicial Review in the Court of Session which will decide the issue of the lawfulness of the procedure which has been used against me.

"If I lose then I will have to answer to the complaints both comprehensively and publicly.

"Until then I am bound to say nothing which would impinge on the Court proceedings.

"In our submissions on Judicial Review we have asked that the complainants’ identity be protected.

“If the Court of Session finds in my favour then the administration at the senior levels of the Scottish Government will have the most serious questions to answer.

"In my opinion and for whatever reason the Permanent Secretary has decided to mount a process against me using an unlawful procedure which she herself introduced.

"I will let a real court decide whether it was lawful for her to do so.”