Actor says Ms H was at Bute House dinner on night she claims Alex Salmond tried to rape her

An actor yesterday said a former Scottish Government official was at a dinner at Bute House on the evening Alex Salmond is alleged to have tried to rape her.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons but is referred to as Ms H, has told a court about two alleged incidents, including a charge that the 65-year-old attempted to rape her in June 2014.

A recording of a Police Scotland interview conducted via Skype last year was played in the courtroom, when a guest – an actor – claimed he had met the complainer at the dinner.

Under questioning from Detective Chief Inspector Graeme McLachlan, the man said the evening’s atmosphere was ‘jovial’ – and he described the building as ‘musty’.

An actor yesterday said a former Scottish Government official was at a dinner at Bute House on the evening Alex Salmond is alleged to have tried to rape her. (Pictured, Salmond outside the High Court in Edinburgh)

He said one bottle of red wine was drunk among the four guests, including him, and he thought Ms H was wearing jeans but could not be certain. The actor said Ms H and Salmond ‘spoke to each other as friends and allies’ and that he had seen nothing happen that had caused him concern.

The court heard that the interview was carried out as part of a police investigation named Operation Diem.

The actor, who was abroad at the time of the police interview in June 2019, said he had visited Bute House in the summer of 2014 with Salmond, Ms H and two others.

He said he did not remember signing in at the main door and he was ushered up to the main room of the building on the first floor.

The actor added that he had been ‘racking [his] brains to think of the names because I knew you [the police] would ask’.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons but is referred to as Ms H, has told a court about two alleged incidents, including a charge that the 65-year-old attempted to rape her in June 2014. (Pictured, Bute House)

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons but is referred to as Ms H, has told a court about two alleged incidents, including a charge that the 65-year-old attempted to rape her in June 2014. (Pictured, Bute House)

He said that apart from Salmond and himself, there were two other guests – the woman he identified as Ms H and another lady, who is not being named for legal reasons.

In the room, there was a Saltire flag by the fire and the group ate roast lamb for dinner.

The actor said he was there to discuss his participation in the Yes campaign.

He said that before he left, Salmond had given him a signed copy of a book on independence entitled ‘Scotland’s Future’.

They went into the cabinet room where they had some alcohol, and the actor said everyone was drinking alcohol. He could not remember seeing soft drinks, but there was water.

Asked about how much people had drunk, the actor said: ‘I cannot speak for how alcohol affects you. I don’t know what you are like when you have two or three glasses of wine.’

He said that some people are ‘completely’ drunk after a few glasses of wine – but he added that ‘no one was behaving as they would in church’.

Asked if he thought anyone was ‘under the influence’, the actor said: ‘Not really.’

The man said that he could not remember if any of the guests had any injuries.

Alex Salmond with his sister Margaret (centre) and a supporter outside the High Court in Edinburgh. The actor said that apart from Salmond and himself, there were two other guests at Bute House ¿ the woman he identified as Ms H and another lady, who is not being named for legal reasons

Alex Salmond with his sister Margaret (centre) and a supporter outside the High Court in Edinburgh. The actor said that apart from Salmond and himself, there were two other guests at Bute House – the woman he identified as Ms H and another lady, who is not being named for legal reasons

The actor said he was ‘quite sober’, adding: ‘We’d only drunk one bottle between four.’

He said Salmond took him and Ms H to the Bute House cabinet room, where the then First Minister presented him with the signed copy of Scotland’s Future.

When he left Bute House at about 11pm, he said Ms H had remained in the building with Salmond.

The man said Salmond and Ms H were on the landing at the top of the stairs. The actor said he went outside to hail a cab.

Salmond has lodged a special defence of alibi on the May dates outlined in the charge, stating that he was elsewhere.

Under cross examination yesterday by Shelagh McCall, QC, representing Salmond, Ms H described the experience of recounting the alleged attempted rape in detail for the first time.

She said: ‘I found the first recall of it quite traumatic. I was in total shock.

‘I found it really difficult. I felt I could not deal with the stress of that at that particular time… I just wanted to be somewhere else.’

Earlier, the court heard that following the alleged attempted rape, Ms H had been upset the following day and had pulled out of an event that she was supposed to attend.

Ms H agreed yesterday that she had sent work-related tweets on that day, but said she sent tweets all the time as part of her work. 

Salmond has entered ‘special defences’ for some of the charges against him, claiming the alleged victims had consented, while he has also submitted an alibi plea for one charge.