Video: Alex Salmond resigns from SNP

He said he wanted to avoid his suspension causing “substantial internal division”.

He had been a member of the SNP for 45 years and its leader for 20, taking it to its greatest electoral heights and closer than it has ever been to realising its goal of independence.

READ MORE: Alex Salmond begins legal action over handling of sexual misconduct claims

Ms Sturgeon said he felt a “huge sadness” and called the situation “incredibly difficult” both for the party and for the women who had complained about Mr Salmond.

She also restated her conviction that the complaints against him “must be investigated without fear or favour” and said independence was “bigger than any one individual”.

Mr Salmond, who has five pensions and fronts a TV show, also launched a crowdfunding appeal to help him take the Scottish Government to court to challenge its handling of the complaints.

He has started a judicial review at the Court of Session, arguing he was denied a fair chance to respond to the claims against him while being investigated by civil servants.

He said the costs would be “huge” and all sums received would go to his legal action, with anything left over going to good causes.

His #forFairness appeal exceeded its £50,000 target within hours.

Opposition parties said he had a “brass neck” asking others to pay for a legal action against the Government he once ran, and accused him of “dragging Scotland into the gutter”.

In an emotional video statement, Mr Salmond said he “truly loved” the SNP and the Yes movement, and didn’t want to damage the “defining commitment” of his life.

He said his continued SNP membership clearly put Ms Sturgeon “under pressure”, and he hoped his departure would blunt opposition attacks on her.

He also said he would continue to serve the Yes movement in whatever way he could, and intended to rejoin the SNP once he had cleared his name by the end of year.

He said he was “enormously

grateful” for messages of support, including from people of different political persuasions, saying: “I can assure them all that I will keep on going.”

The former MP and MSP urged his SNP supporters to stay in the party and not resign in solidarity.

He said: “It is a rare thing to be devoted to a cause more important than any individual, it is a precious thing to cherish it and my intention now – as it has always been – is to protect and sustain that cause.”

Ms Sturgeon said: “Alex has been my friend and mentor for almost 30 years and his contribution to the SNP and the independence movement speaks for itself.

“I know party members will be upset by this news, just as I am. I also know there are many questions that can only be answered in the fullness of time. It is important now that any legal processes are allowed to take their course.

“In the meantime, I agree with Alex that the cause of independence, to which both he and I have dedicated our entire lives, is bigger than any one individual. And the work we must do to achieve independence is more important than ever now.”

The development, which sent shockwaves through Scotland’s governing party, followed two civil servants complaining of misconduct by Mr Salmond in 2013, when he was first minister.

Police Scotland is currently investigating the matter. Mr Salmond, 63, said he refuted the two complaints of harassment against him and rejected any suggestion of criminality.

The Daily Record has reported that one complaint alleged Mr Salmond groped a woman at Bute House in December 2013 in an unwanted sexual advance.

He said: “It seems obvious that Nicola feels under pressure from other political parties to suspend me from SNP membership, given recent party precedents. For my part I have always thought it a very poor idea to suspend any party member on the basis of complaints and allegations.

“Most of all I am conscious that if the party felt forced into suspending me it would cause substantial internal division.”

He said his focus in the coming weeks would be in preparing for the legal action against the Government and its top official, the Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans.

“My intention is to secure fairness because that is necessary to clear my name,” he said.

Labour MSP Rhoda Grant said: “That an independently wealthy man with his celebrity and political power is to raise legal fees through a crowdfunder for a case ultimately linked to sexual harassment is unbelievable. It suggests that he is sending a signal to those who have made allegations that he has the upper hand.

“Decent people will be furious that he is to raise money to take the Scottish Government to court. Alex Salmond is abusing his power, and dragging Scotland into the gutter.”

A Scottish Conservative spokesman said: “This is an overdue move, but one that plunges Scotland’s governing party into turmoil. The fact he now has the brass neck to publicly crowdfund in the same breath as seemingly doing the right thing is astonishing.

“Scotland faces the incredible and unprecedented situation of its most famous former First Minister appealing to SNP supporters for cash to take legal action against the government he used to run.”

Ms Sturgeon is due to address her MSPs and MPs face-to-face tomorrow for the first time since the crisis over Mr Salmond erupted.

The First Minister will meet her parliamentarians at the party’s annual ‘away day’ at Napier University in Edinburgh.

Party managers have told SNP MSPs to “keep their heads down” and not engage with the media about Mr Salmond when Holyrood resumes next week.

Civil service unions have endorsed the Scottish Government’s handling of the complaints process, which Mr Salmond called “defective” and “unlawful”.

Prospect, the FDA and the PCS also gave their “full support” to Ms Evans after seeking assurances that other complaints would still be properly investigated.

TRANSCRIPT OF MR SALMOND'S VIDEO MESSAGE

I HAVE been a member of the Scottish National Party for 45 years, 20 of them as party leader and seven as First Minister of Scotland. I hope I have done the party and the broader cause of independence some service.

Apart from a political spat back in the 1980s, that has been a period of continuous membership. I truly love the SNPand the wider independence movement in Scotland. They have been the defining commitment of my life. But today I have written to the National Secretary of the Party resigning my membership.

I read carefully Nicola Sturgeon’s statement on Sunday and watched her television interview of a couple of days ago. She made it clear that the SNP have never received a single complaint about my personal conduct in my many decades of membership. And the Scottish Government have confirmed that they did not have any such complaint before this January, more than three years after I left office as First Minister. That is the record of 30 years of public service. So let me be clear again. I refute these two complaints of harassment and I absolutely reject any suggestion of criminality.

I believe that all such issues must be treated seriously, confidentially and through a fair process. In this case confidentiality has been broken greatly to my detriment and in a way which puts at serious risk the anonymity of both complainants. It urgently needs to be established who breached that duty of confidence and why.

It seems obvious that Nicola feels under pressure from other political parties to suspend me from SNP membership, given recent party precedents. For my part I have always thought it a very poor idea to suspend any party member on the basis of complaints and allegations. Innocent until proven guilty is central to our concept of justice.

However, I did not come into politics to facilitate opposition attacks on the SNP and, with Parliament returning next week, I have tendered my resignation to remove this line of opposition attack. Most of all I am conscious that if the Party felt forced into suspending me it would cause substantial internal division.

In my letter to the National Secretary I state that it is my absolute intention to reapply for SNP membership just as soon as I have had the opportunity to clear my name. I hope that is by the end of this year. In the meantime I would urge no one else to relinquish their SNP membership.

My entire focus for the next few weeks is preparing for Judicial Review, against the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government, the initial stages of which began yesterday. My intention is to secure fairness because that is necessary to clear my name.