29 August: Salmond formally begins his judicial review of the government’s handling of harassment complaints against him. He also resigns his membership from the
Scottish National Party amid allegations of sexual misconduct.[6][7]
31 August: Then senior counsel for the government, Roddy Dunlop QC, warns the government that the revelation that a senior official had previously met and briefed the two complainers was “extremely concerning”.[3][1]
6 December:Leslie Evans is warned by Roddy Dunlop QC that Salmond’s legal challenge will “more likely than not succeed”.[3]
31 December: Evans concedes the judicial review.[3]
2019
8 January: The
Court of Session, Scotland's
supremecivilcourt, declares the inquiry unlawful on procedural grounds and Salmond is awarded £512,000 in legal costs.[8]
13 January: Sturgeon refers herself to the independent ministerial ethics body after opposition parties raise concerns about her meetings with Salmond.[9]
24 January:Police Scotland arrest Salmond, and he was charged with 14 offences, including two counts of attempted rape, nine of sexual assault, two of indecent assault, and one of breach of the peace.[10]
2020
23 March: Salmond is cleared of all charges. A jury finds him not guilty of 12 charges, one charge was dropped by prosecutors earlier in the trial while one charge was found
not proven.[11]
8 December: Sturgeon's husband and Chief Executive of the SNP,
Peter Murrell, gives his evidence to the Scottish Parliament's inquiry.[12]
3 March: Sturgeon gives her evidence before the committee. [14]
19 March: A leaked Scottish Parliament committee report on the handling of the government's allegations finds Sturgeon misled parliament.[15] On the same day,
Leader Scottish Conservatives,
Douglas Ross, calls for her resignation or a
motion of no confidence vote will be brought to parliament.[16]
22 March: Sturgeon is cleared of breaching the ministerial code by a report by
James HamiltonQC.[17]
23 March: The official report of the
Scottish Parliament's inquiry into the Scottish Government’s handling of sexual harassment allegations is found by a majority of votes that Sturgeon misled parliament.[18]Opposition leader in Holyrood,
Ruth Davidson, motions a vote of no confidence against Sturgeon. She survives the vote by 65 to 31 to reject the motion, with the
Scottish Greens supporting the SNP and
Scottish Labour and
Liberal Democrats abstaining.[19]
26 March: Salmond is announced as the new leader of the
Alba Party and announces his intention to seek election at the
May election.[20]