Alex Salmond tells trial some allegations 'fabricated' for 'political purpose' but admits stroking sleeping woman's face

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Former first minister Alex Salmond has been giving evidence at his own trial in Edinburgh. He took to the witness stand in the High Court this morning.

The former first minister is facing 13 charges of alleged offences against 9 women, all of which he has pleaded not guilty to.Gordon Jackson QC, for the defence, asked Salmond if he was aware of a policy where female workers were not allowed to be alone in his presence.Salmond said he wasn’t.He added “there was no policy like that”.Salmond was asked about the allegations by Woman B that he forcefully tried to recreate a Christmas card kissing scene by pulling her wrists.He said: “I didn’t do that.”Salmond added: “I took her hands and said let’s recreate the card but it was a joke.