Alex Salmond will not appear before harassment committee today

Alex Salmond has cancelled his appearance before the Scottish Parliament’s harassment committee today.

It comes after the Scottish Parliament took down and revised the written evidence provided by Salmond from its website, with substantial parts of what he said censored.

The changes came after an intervention by the Crown Office raising concerns about the publication of the evidence.

The Scottish Parliament has said it cannot share what the Crown Office said.

In a letter to the committee, Salmond’s lawyer said that the deletion of part of his evidence “created a significant legal impediment to his oral evidence”.

“That impediment requires careful consideration and reflection as well as legal advice.”

A Scottish Parliament spokesperson said: “Mr Salmond has informed the committee that he will not be attending tomorrow’s meeting to give evidence.

“The committee will instead meet in private to discuss the implications of Mr Salmond’s response and the next steps for its work.”

It is thought that Salmond may appear before the committee on Friday instead.