Alex Salmond inquiry leaks being investigated by police

Police are investigating leaks of information about the Scottish government's inquiry into harassment allegations against Alex Salmond.

Officers told the BBC they were dealing with two complaints of what could be "unlawful disclosure".

News that two female civil servants complained about Mr Salmond's behaviour first appeared in the Daily Record in August 2018.

Investigations by the Scottish government and the information commissioner failed to establish how the paper got hold of the details.

Earlier this year, Mr Salmond said he was referring the matter to Police Scotland.

A Police Scotland spokesman has now confirmed the force is "investigating two complaints regarding the potential unlawful disclosure of information".

In a statement, Mr Salmond welcomed the confirmation of the police investigation.

He added: "I have always believed that if you find the sources of the criminal leaks then you find the truth".

The Scottish government said it was unable to comment on any live police investigations.

It is understood the investigation into the second leak concerns the publication of the Scottish government's report into the Salmond case which appears in a new book.

Break-Up by journalists David Clegg and Kieran Andrews was published by Biteback earlier this month.

An internal government investigation was set up in 2018 after two female civil servants made formal complaints about Mr Salmond's behaviour, dating back to when he was first minister.

Some of the complaints were upheld in a decision report written by Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans, the Scottish government's most senior civil servant, who said they were "well founded".

However these findings were set aside when Mr Salmond successfully challenged the newly-devised complaints handling procedure in court.

The government conceded that the probe had broken rules and been "tainted by apparent bias" because the investigating officer had had some prior contact with the complainers.

The former first minister was awarded costs of more than £500,000, and was later cleared of all charges in a separate criminal trial.

Details of the investigation were published in the Daily Record newspaper after they were revealed by what Mr Clegg called an "anonymous whistleblower", and further extracts from Ms Evans' report were later published in the book he penned with Mr Andrews.

An inquiry into the leak was carried out by the Information Commissioner's Office, the body with statutory responsibility for investigating such matters.

Its report said it had "sympathy with the hypothesis that the leak came from an employee of the Scottish government", given the timing and the limited number of people who had access to the findings.

However it said a forensic examination of government computers and interviews with staff had not provided an "electronic trail to follow" or any witnesses.

It concluded that "there was insufficient evidence to point to any specific suspect and to allow the investigation to move forward".

However Mr Salmond continued to insist that there "absolutely should be a police investigation of the matter", saying he believed the leak had been "politically inspired".

A Holyrood inquiry committee found the Scottish government's handling of the original complaints had been "seriously flawed" when its report was published on 23 March.

The committee's report noted concerns about the disclosure, saying it had been "damaging" for both Mr Salmond and the women who complained.

It added: "Confidentiality of an investigation is of paramount importance, and the leaking of such information is extremely serious."

Both Ms Evans and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon have apologised for the mistakes that were made during the probe, while insisting it was right and proper to investigate the complaints.

Work to develop a new independent system for investigating complaints against ministers and former ministers is due to be completed by the end of the year.