Alex Salmond will be "completely vindicated" as a court case launched by him continue after his death, according to the senior lawyer and former SNP MP Joanna Cherry.

Ms Cherry spoke out as tributes continued to pour in to the former First Minister and SNP leader who died suddenly after giving a speech on Saturday in North Macedonia where he was attending an international event.

At the time of his death Mr Salmond was pursuing a number of actions through the courts and Police Scotland in the aftermath of his acquittal at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2020 of charges of sexual assault and in relation to a flawed Scottish Government investigation into complaints made against him. 

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In relation to the government probe, Mr Salmond took the government to court with the judges ruling the investigation was unlawful and "tainted by apparent bias".

In August this year Mr Salmond's lawyer Gordon Dangerfield told the Court of Session that Mr Salmond is seeking "significant damages" and compensation for loss of earnings that could total millions of pounds from ministers.

He alleged "malfeasance" by various former and current Scottish Government civil servants with his legal team arguing that they "conducted themselves improperly, in bad faith and beyond their powers, with the intention of injuring Mr Salmond”.

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"I think it's very important to remember that the two major court cases in which Alex was involved, Alex was acquitted, found innocent on all the charges, all the criminal charges against him, and in relation to the Scottish Government's investigation, the court said it was void because it was tainted by apparent bias," Ms Cherry said when asked on BBC Scotland's show how his later split with his successor Nicola Sturgeon may affect his legacy.

"We've also heard, because we've all read about how long it took the Scottish Government to concede that...and their failure to take their lawyers advice. We have innocent until proven guilty in this country for a reason.

"I'm very dismayed, as a lawyer, by the lack of respect there's been for the jury verdict in Alex's criminal charge, and sometimes concerns me, that people don't take seriously enough the gravity of the fact that a government investigation against a former First Minister, was found to be tainted by apparent bias."

She added: "Now, of course, Alex has an outstanding civil action and there are outstanding criminal investigations which we can't say very much about. I think it's a terrible tragedy that Alex has died before he was able to be completely vindicated, but I believe that time will vindicate his name. 

"And I think more and more people across the political divide from Scotland are becoming interested in what exactly went on behind the scenes in relation to Alex Salmond. And I think it's a great tragedy of Alex Salmond's career that so many of his erstwhile comrades and political colleagues and friends either stabbed him in the back or turned their back on him in his hour of need. I found that pretty disgusting at the time, and I'm very proud that I stood by him and I think it's very important that we talk about him in the days to come we remember that he was acquitted of all the criminal charges against him."

Speaking on the same panel Geoff Aberdein, Mr Salmond's former chief of staff when he was First Minister, noted Mr Salmond's political achievements and his role in securing the independence referendum and bringing Scotland close to independence in 2014. He resigned when Scots voted by 45% to 55% to remain in the UK.

"I was in the room when he did his resignation speech, and he said that the dream of independence, shall not die it's not dead, and it's not dead because of the work of Alex Salmond and it's for others now to ensure it stays alive," Mr Aberdein said.

Speaking earlier today First Minster John Swinney said Mr Salmond “left a fundamental footprint on Scottish politics”.

Interviewed on rhe BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Swinney said his predecessor “Inspired a generation of people to believe in Scottish independence, and that generation is still believing in Scottish independence, and still wants Scottish independence”.

Asked about his abiding memory of Mr Salmond, the First Minister said: “Obviously, I worked very closely with Alex Salmond, and I suspect the moment where I was most touched by what he did was when I was driving to Edinburgh on the day after the 2007 election, and I listened to him speaking on the radio when he arrived in Edinburgh, and he talked about Scotland had changed and changed forever and would never be the same again because of our election win in 2007.

“And it was a deeply emotional moment for me, because I heard my party leader at the time indicating that we’d taken a colossal step forward on our journey to independence, and I fondly remember that moment, and what it meant to me is signifying the progress that we had made.”

He was also asked about Mr Salmond’s break with the SNP, and the “bitterness” that arose between Mr Salmond and his protegee Nicola Sturgeon in the last few years.

The First Minister replied: “Obviously, it’s been a very difficult few years, and there will be time to reflect on all of those issues in the days to come. But I think today, I think all of us can recognise the formidable contribution that Alex Salmond made.”