Salmond has been under investigation over sexual harassment allegations
Alex Salmond, the former first minister of
Scotland, has been arrested and charged by police.
It is understood Salmond was arrested and charged on Wednesday night. It is not yet clear what charges he faces or when he will appear in court.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “We can confirm a 64-year-old man has been arrested and charged and a report has been sent to the procurator fiscal.”
Salmond has been under investigation by Police Scotland following a confidential investigation by the Scottish government into allegations by two women that he sexually harassed them several years ago. The Scottish government sent their final report to police in August last year.
After the sexual harassment allegations came to light in August, Salmond has consistently denied that he was guilty of any criminal behaviour.
He said he had tried to resolve the claims made by the two women, who worked for the Scottish government, through mediation and arbitration.
There have been media reports that the Police Scotland investigation had been broadened to include allegations about incidents at Edinburgh airport more than a decade ago.
In early January, Salmond won a significant legal victory against the Scottish government after the civil service admitted its investigation into the two harassment claims had been mishandled.
It emerged that the senior personnel expert who led the formal investigation, Judith MacKinnon, had been involved in counselling and supporting the two complainants before they filed their official complaints.
The Scottish government acknowledged this was in breach of its rules, was unlawful and had the appearance of bias.