Alex Salmond in ‘bid to lead fresh drive for Scots independence’ as he is cleared of sex assaults

Alex Salmond is tipped to make a dramatic SNP leadership comeback bid after he was cleared of sex assault charges this week. 

Well-placed sources say he thinks Scottish independence is ‘going nowhere’ under Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and wants to lead a ‘re-energised drive’ to break away from the rest of the UK. 

Mr Salmond, 65, is believed to be planning to run for the party’s leadership on a ‘dream ticket’ with SNP MP Joanna Cherry. 

Alex Salmond leaves the High Court in Edinbrugh on Monday. Could the former SNP leader be preparing a stunning bid to return to leadership? 

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell. Scotland's First Minister said she would not support a 'wildcat referendum,' similar to the illegal independence vote in Catalonia in Spain in 2017 which resulted in its leaders being jailed

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell. Scotland’s First Minister said she would not support a ‘wildcat referendum,’ similar to the illegal independence vote in Catalonia in Spain in 2017 which resulted in its leaders being jailed

It is thought Mr Salmond, who has already led the SNP on two separate occasions since 1990, would be content to be deputy to Miss Cherry, a barrister who led a legal bid to use the Scottish courts to block Brexit last year. 

Tellingly, Miss Cherry was the first senior figure after the trial to call for Mr Salmond to be let back in to the party. According to one source, the hostility between Miss Sturgeon and Miss Cherry is such that ‘the two cannot bear to be in the same room’. 

She heaped more pressure on Miss Sturgeon by throwing down the gauntlet to her low-profile but powerful backroom fixer husband Peter Murrell, the SNP’s chief executive. 

Miss Cherry called on Mr Murrell to let Mr Salmond back into the party ‘without delay’ and lead an investigation into the handling of the allegations against him. 

Mr Salmond’s acquittal has seen the opening shots in a bloody political battle between his supporters and backers of Miss Sturgeon, who have been accused of plotting against him, for control of the party. 

The two rival factions spent yesterday hurling claim and counter-claim against each other. 

Allies of Mr Salmond questioned the way Miss Sturgeon’s office is run by chief of staff Liz Lloyd, and claimed Miss Sturgeon is ‘more interested in transgender rights than the rights of Sots to be free’. 

They said she was ‘terrified’ Mr Salmond would grab back the job she inherited from him in 2014. 

Allies of Miss Sturgeon claimed Mr Salmond was ‘deluded’ to believe he could lead the party for a third time, and suggested he was using his acquittal to ‘settle scores’ with political foes not involved in the court case and seeking to portray himself as ‘a bigger victim than victims of rape’. 

Joanna Cherry was the first senior figure after the trial to call for Mr Salmond to be let back in to the party. According to one source, the hostility between Miss Sturgeon and Miss Cherry is such that ‘the two cannot bear to be in the same room’

Joanna Cherry was the first senior figure after the trial to call for Mr Salmond to be let back in to the party. According to one source, the hostility between Miss Sturgeon and Miss Cherry is such that ‘the two cannot bear to be in the same room’

Miss Sturgeon is expected to step down some time after next year’s Scottish Parliament elections. 

According to some SNP insiders, her chosen heir and successor is Angus Robertson, who was the party’s Westminster leader until he lost his Commons seat in 2017. 

An intriguing dress rehearsal of a possible future Salmond vs Sturgeon SNP leadership battle by their most vocal respective cheerleaders, Miss Cherry and Mr Robertson, is already under way. 

They are in a head-to-head contest to be SNP candidate for the Scottish Parliament seat of Edinburgh Central. 

Claims from four more women

Mr Salmond is facing another possible police probe after further claims by four women. 

It is understood the women made complaints about the former first minister of Scotland’s behaviour in London during the initial Police Scotland probe. 

A source said the force had referred the complaints to the Metropolitan Police but it is unclear if a new inquiry has been launched. 

The complaints are said to relate to Mr Salmond’s two stints as an SNP MP, The Times reported. 

He was MP for Banff & Buchan from 1987 until 2010 and MP for Gordon between 2015 and 2017.

A source close to Mr Salmond said: ‘These are comparatively minor allegations.’ 

The Met declined to comment.

Mr Robertson has already taken a swipe at Miss Cherry, saying the marginal seat needs ‘a full-time candidate’. 

Miss Cherry, the Westminster MP for Edinburgh South West, countered by pledging to quit the Commons if she wins the Scottish Parliament seat. 

The two mirror the independence split between Miss Sturgeon and Mr Salmond. Miss Sturgeon has dismissed calls to defy Boris Johnson’s ban on rerunning the 2014 independence referendum. 

She said she did not support a ‘wildcat referendum’ similar to the illegal independence vote in Catalonia in Spain in 2017 which resulted in its leaders being jailed. 

Mr Robertson takes a similar stance. 

Supporters of Mr Salmond and Miss Cherry favour a legal challenge against Mr Johnson’s veto, leading to speculation they could attempt a Catalan-style revolt if they take over the SNP. 

‘Independence is going nowhere under Sturgeon,’ said a prominent SNP activist. ‘Her top priority is hanging on to the baubles of office, the lifestyle, chauffeurs. Alex… would re-energise the independence movement and be a dream ticket with Joanna [Cherry].’ 

Miss Sturgeon’s allies say she is equally determined to get independence.     

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