OVER a dozen Scottish Government staff have been contacted by police as part of the investigation into claims of sexual misconduct against former First Minister Alex Salmond.
Officers on the probe, which has been named Operation Diem, have also spoken to ex-staff who worked for the SNP, rather than the Government.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Our enquiries continue, we will not be commenting further."
It was revealed last year that two Government staff members had alleged sexual harassment against Salmond when he was in office.
The claims triggered an internal Government investigation, ultimately under the control of top civil servant Leslie Evans, after which the findings were referred to Police Scotland.
Salmond, who denies sexually harassing anyone, said the Government probe was “unfair and unjust”, and is pursuing a judicial review into the way it was handled.
His legal challenge, for which the former SNP leader raised around £100,000 in crowdfunding, will begin this month.
Although SNP sources expect Salmond’s judicial review to generate a huge amount of media coverage, the police investigation into the sexual harassment claims also continues to proceed behind the scenes.
As revealed by the Herald on Sunday, the force asked the Government for the names and contact details of Salmond’s private office staff between April 2013 and November 2014.
The purpose of the police request was to understand the structure of Salmond’s private office in Government, as well as securing the details of anyone who might assist the officers with their enquiries.
One source said that at least a dozen individuals connected to the Government, either serving or former employees, had been contacted so far.
This newspaper is also aware of one former SNP staffer, who started work for the party's politicians over a decade ago, who has been interviewed.
The force initially refused to disclose the name of the investigation on the grounds that it was exempt under freedom of information legislation.
Police Scotland argued: “There is no public interest in the release of information into the public domain that could compromise the future flow of information to the police and, in turn, compromise the ability of the force to effectively fulfil its statutory obligations.”
A review later overturned the original decision and ‘Operation Diem’ was released: “It is unlikely that the disclosure of the operational name given to an investigation where Police Scotland has already confirmed that investigation is likely to be prejudicial”.
A spokesman for Salmond said: “We are totally focused on the upcoming judicial review in the Court of Session.
The Government declined to comment.
Officers who are investigating the harassment claims are also examining alleged incidents in relation to Salmond at Edinburgh Airport.
Staff at the airport were interviewed by officers about allegations that date back to 2008, when he was First Minister.
An airport spokesman said at the time: “We are helping police with their inquiries and are unable to comment further at this time.”
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