Alex Salmond charged with attempted rape

Former first minister Alex Salmond has been charged with multiple counts of sexual assault and two of attempted rape.

The former SNP leader has been charged with 14 offences – one of breach of the peace, two of indecent assault, nine of sexual assault, as well as two of attempted rape.

Appearing at Edinburgh Sheriff court he said that he was “innocent of any criminality”.

Telling assembled media he refuted allegations of criminality, Salmond said he would “defend himself to the utmost in court”.

The 64-year-old made no plea during the hearing and was released on bail. The date of his next appearance in court has yet to be confirmed.

The arrest comes after Salmond took the Scottish Government to court over the way it handled allegations of sexual misconduct made against him by two civil servants.

The Scottish Government was forced to concede it had made procedural errors when investigating the complaints and Salmond was awarded costs running into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

A separate police investigation was also launched.