Year: 2020
Presenter: Kirsty Wark
Executive Producer: Mick McAvoy
Director: Sarah Howitt
Producer: Lotte Murphy-Johnson
Production Company: Two Rivers Media Ltd
Synopsis
In March 2020, Scotland’s former First Minister Alex Salmond emerged from the High Court in Edinburgh, cleared of fourteen charges of sexual misconduct. The verdict concluded one of the most dramatic trials Britain has ever seen.
From the moment the story broke in the Daily Record in August 2018, to his acquittal the very day the UK locked down against Coronavirus, Kirsty Wark has followed the ups and downs of a case that has seen tabloid scoops shock the nation and the destruction of one of the strongest political partnerships in modern politics. Along the way, Kirsty traces the origins of the criminal case to the Me Too movement and, for the first time on television, speaks to some of the women at the centre of the trial
Set in the heart of Edinburgh, with the growing Covid-19 pandemic looming in the background, this film sees Kirsty Wark travelling across Scotland as she follows the trial and interviews people who were present at key moments surrounding the political scandal. Talking to Alex Salmond’s former press adviser, Campbell Gunn, Kirsty learns that Campbell was ‘stunned’ when he heard the criminal charges against his former boss, commenting, ‘I didn’t see that coming at all, I don’t think he did either’.
Throughout this film, Kirsty looks back at Alex Salmond’s political career and examines the growing rift between him and his former protégé Nicola Sturgeon. As Salmond prepared to take the stand, these divisions came to the fore and some of his allies alleged that there was a conspiracy at the heart of the Scottish Government to stop Salmond returning to politics. Kirsty explores these controversial claims and interviews Nicola Sturgeon who denies them. Kirsty also reveals how this trial has widened divisions and exposed tensions that threaten to have a huge impact on Scotland’s politics.
Speaking to insiders who witnessed the story as it unfolded, Kirsty reveals the explosive inside story that has seen a man, who was once Scotland’s most powerful politician, fight for his freedom and asks what the fallout could mean for the SNP and Scotland’s political future.
Header image: Courtesy of Two Rivers Media.