The article itself is shot full of holes - the biggest of the lot being the suggestion that you should simply submit yourself to an investigation process which prevents you knowing the details of what you are accused of, or having any opportunity within the process to defend yourself.

The single (and wholly inadequate) saving grace of the Civil Service process which has been used to accuse AS is that it is (supposed to be) confidential - until of course a person or persons unknown decides to leak it to the gutter press. At which point, according to The Grauniad, you should just accept that too!

The only known facts of this matter is that by any definition the process has been inherently unfair, requires to be challenged, and that the leaking is absolutely malicious - the sole intention being to wreck not just Alex Salmond’s career but his reputation before or perhaps instead of establishing any guilt.

In such a situation, who would not fight? No criminal charges have yet been brought (any may never be) so the fight must focus on the process. The financial cost of doing so in the Court of Session in Scotland is estimated at a minimum of £50,000 and if you lose, you can at least double that. We assume that Alex Salmond is not short of a few bob of course but £100K is a considerable hit if things go the wrong way and the leaker gets their (her?) wish that you never work again.

Yessers and SNP supporters who wanted to help were suggesting a crowdfunder long before he launched one. £50K was targeted but £100K was raised in 3 days. Alex then closed it.

I see absolutely nothing wrong in how he has behaved over the past few days. Any accused person must be allowed a defence and the fact it costs £50K to exercise it is appalling.

Whether it is subsequently proved in a Court of law that he behaved badly within the substance of the allegations, will be another matter - although I suspect the media has now poisoned the prospect of any fair trial to the extent that one becomes impossible.

The article then goes on to suggest that Salmond had split the SNP and I’ve even seen elsewhere that “Civil War” has broken out. Such hyperbole is wishful thinking from the Unionist press bankrolled by the UK Govt (do you know the UK Govt via the BBC now funnels hard cash into the print media) - not to mention all the free advertising on BBC news and “papers” programmes. The reality is that there is neither any split nor any Civil War - it’s laughable.

However, should Salmond win this then, in my view, Sturgeon has some very serious questions to answer over why she signed off a wholly unfair Civil Service investigation process and inexplicably has continued to insist that confidentiality has been maintained when everybody can clearly see it has not.