Parly probe 'may have accelerated' Salmond's death

Tory calls on government to answer questions

- CHRIS MCCALL

THE Scottish Government's botched handling of complaints against Alex Salmond may have "accelerated his death", it has been claimed.

Senior Conservative MP David Davis hit out following the death of his friend and former first minister on Saturday.

The Tory, who was a UK Government minister, said Salmond's legal issues which saw him cleared in the High Court of sexual offences - had affected him.

He said: "It put a huge pall over the last several years of this great man's life and - who knows? - it might even have accelerated his death.

"I want to see this exposed so that the Scottish Government is forced to answer questions on this matter."

Davis has spoken several times about alleged malfeasance on the part of the Scottish Government in regards to an investigation it launched in 2018.

He used Commons privilege in 2021 - which means MPs cannot be sued for statements made in the House to claim senior government figures had interfered in the process.