AN SNP women's rights activist who has thrown her hat into the ring to contest a high-profile seat at next year’s Holyrood election has hit out at one of the party’s MPs for conspiracy theory comments as part of a BBC documentary on the Alex Salmond trial.

Lee-Anne Menzies has put herself forward alongside former SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson and ex-MSP Marco Biagi to be selected by her party to contest Ruth Davidson’s Edinburgh Central seat at May’s election.

Joanna Cherry dropped out of the race amid a row over internal SNP rules.

But Ms Menzies, who is also a national committee member of the Women for Independence group, has claimed the SNP needs to “look long and hard at who we elect into our parliaments” after East Lothian MP Kenny MacAskill, a key Alex Salmond ally, claimed the former first minister’s accusers had given “entirely false” evidence in court.

Mr MacAskill was quizzed over an alleged conspiracy theory around Mr Salmond’s court case, where he was cleared of all 13 counts of sexual assault in March.

As part of the BBC documentary, presented by Kirsty Wark, Mr MacAskill claimed that “there was collusion going on to try and both encourage the police and indeed bring down Alex Salmond”.

Mr MacAskill was asked what evidence he had of any consipracy, but instead said he can “only operate in the speculation that has been given to me”, adding that “they were worried about the return of Alex Salmond and therefore they decided to put him out”.

He added: “I’ve had discussions with several people, more than several people and indeed from different sectors – within law enforcement, within Alex Salmond’s camp and indeed elsewhere.

“So this is tittle-tattle and I can’t claim to have the hands on it, but there are individuals who gave evidence who I know, because I’ve been a member of the SNP and they were long-standing like me. I believe their evidence to have been entirely false.”

Nicola Sturgeon has previously branded any suggestion of a conspiracy theory as “a heap of nonesense”.

Ms Menzies, who has previously run for selection against Mr MacAskill, said that his comments were the “biggest disappointment” of the programme.

She added: “This is a former justice secretary who knows that a criminal threshold not being met doesn’t mean anyone lied or gave false testimony. Yet, here he is claiming that this is the case because he knew the person.

"This is the same man who claimed that Mark MacDonald was 'a silly wee laddie' after he admitted inappropriate behaviour towards women.

“If we want to reform Scotland and get a fairer, more diverse and equal society then we need to look long and hard at who we elect into our parliaments.”