Former Scottish First Minister Salmond Arrested, Will Appear In Court Thursday - Police

Alex Salmond, a former first minister of Scotland, has been arrested and will appear in court later on Thursday, Police Scotland said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th January, 2019) Alex Salmond, a former first minister of Scotland, has been arrested and will appear in court later on Thursday, Police Scotland said.

Earlier in January, a court in Edinburgh did not accept the arguments of the Scottish government's investigation into complaints of Salmond's alleged sexual misconduct, recognizing its handling of the probe as non-compliant with laws and standards.

"We can confirm that a 64 year old man has been arrested and charged and a report will be sent to the procurator fiscal," a spokesman for the police said in a statement.

RT and Sputnik editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, meanwhile, confirmed the arrest of Salmond � who is also the host of the political chat program "The Alex Salmond Show" on the RT broadcaster � on Telegram. She recalled that a host of another RT political show, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, was also accused of "sexual offenses," but these allegations were later dropped.

Simonyan expressed belief that the story would be "exactly the same."

The scandal around Salmond broke out after two women brought sexual harassment complaints against him in 2013, during his tenure as Scottish first minister. He himself categorically denied that any harassment had taken place and sued the regional government over its handling of the investigation.

He also expressed determination to seek justice in court and launched a crowdfunding campaign last summit to pay for judicial expenses.

In August 2018, Salmond announced that he was leaving the Scottish National Party after 45 years of membership for the sake of the party's interests.

Salmond served as the first minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014 and also headed the Scottish National Party from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014.