In the end the four-hour session ran for almost exactly six hours, and Alex Salmond looked like he could have done another six standing on his head. Now, it would be only fair to acknowledge that this site was on his side before the start, but by any rational objective assessment the former First Minister delivered the performance of his life.
(We use “performance” there in the Lionel Messi sense, not the Laurence Olivier one.)
The contrast with every other witness who’s appeared before the committee was night and day. With Salmond there was no evasion, no hesitation, no forgetting, no “I’ll get back to you on that in writing”. (We recommend the Twitter feed of Scotland Speaks for some choice clips.)
Every question was answered fully, directly, fluently and immediately, without recourse to notes, and the content was never less than devastating from his opening statement to the final surprise bombshell. We were exhausted just watching it.
His words, tone and body language all absolutely radiated candour, solemnity and honesty. When the SNP members tried to trip him up on some arcane point or other, he was on them like an extremely calm hawk, methodically tearing their assertions to ribbons with the correct fact or quote at his fingertips, and ice in his veins.
Salmond came across like a man who’d been planning this day for almost a year and wasn’t going to mess it up. And he didn’t. Heavens, how he didn’t.
From 12.30 this afternoon, Alex Salmond will attempt to tell the people of Scotland the truth about what happened to him in the last two years – a grave injustice which saw an innocent man have his reputation dragged through the gutter, be placed under incredible personal stress, be left greatly impoverished by proving his innocence, and then have the jury’s verdict endlessly traduced by the media and a gang of criminal conspirators protected from the consequences of their lies by lifelong anonymity.
His job will be a difficult one. Every single person in the room will be bitterly hostile to him – the four Unionist committee members because he’s Alex Salmond, and the others because he represents a deadly threat to the First Minister.
The inquiry’s convener – a woman sacked by Salmond years ago – will attempt to prevent him from presenting large swathes of evidence, despite having made him swear to tell “the whole truth”. The SNP members will try to run down the four-hour session with questions designed to only deflect from the real issue – the actions and behaviour of the Scottish Government. Andy Wightman will probably just cry.
We’ll be extremely surprised if there aren’t some attempts to slyly re-try Mr Salmond and paint him as a guilty man who cheated justice, and to drag up salacious details of the allegations in an effort to smear him in front of the cameras.
We believe Alex Salmond will be more than equal to the task.
When the Faculty Of Advocates – the most senior body of lawyers/QCs in the country – is handing out barely-veiled smackdowns like this to the First Minister, then you know you’re in some pretty uncharted jungle.
For the record, we thought you should see what the Scottish Parliament considers to be the appropriate treatment of an “Urgent Question”.
For a little over eight minutes, the Lord Advocate was allowed to ignore and avoid a series of questions put to him regarding the abjectly corrupt Crown Office’s recent interference with the work of the Fabiani inquiry by redacting evidence which in no way identified anyone as a complainer in the trial of Alex Salmond.
By the committee’s rules, if it’s not on the committee website then it doesn’t exist, and the redacted parts are – belatedly – no longer on the website. (As far as we can make out the unredacted version was finally removed around midnight last night.)
Farcically, she also denied even knowing that this question from James Matthews of Sky News was about Geoff Aberdein, who is the subject of all the redacted sections, which are all about the meeting Matthews was asking her about.
The First Minister is a liar and has all but given up on even the most token pretence otherwise. She is a disgrace to Scotland.
If we can somehow find the time amid the relentless blizzard of current Scottish political activity, we’re going to put together a list of all the legitimate and important questions that Alex Salmond’s lawyers have asked the Fabiani inquiry which haven’t even had the courtesy of a reply, let alone a satisfactory one.
We fully anticipate that the contents of the letter below, sent today, will be on that list.
It really can’t be overstated what extraordinary tweets these are.
That’s the editor of the conservative, ultra-establishment Spectator openly linking to a document that the Crown Office – the agent of the Queen herself – has threatened to prosecute the Scottish Parliament for publishing, and which has officially been deleted but is for some reason actually still available on the Parliament’s website.
The Spectator is giving the Queen the finger. And that’s not even the mad bit.
The Scottish Government and Nicola Sturgeon have tonight embarked on a last-ditch desperate throw of the dice to undermine and sabotage the already-compromised and endlessly-obstructed Fabiani inquiry in its impossible quest for the truth.
Having previously deployed her paid mouthpiece Rape Crisis Scotland last week, the First Minister – who’s spent the last six months insisting that she’d save her comments for her appearance at the inquiry – suddenly popped up on BBC and STV (but not, curiously, Sky News) to issue a challenge full of gunfighter bravado to her predecessor.
Bilbo on Faces In Sand: “@ Aidan If the production method to make English whisky is cheaper where savings are passed on and is just…” Oct 27, 21:19
Southernbystander on Faces In Sand: “Plenty of cheese in England Hatey, just saying.” Oct 27, 21:01
Bilbo on Faces In Sand: “100% Yes. I’m content with a just a few of can’s of lager myself 🙂” Oct 27, 20:55
Bilbo on Faces In Sand: “You do make me laugh Hatey. I can still feel the tremors of you banging your desk as you read…” Oct 27, 20:53
Aidan on Faces In Sand: “I will stick my neck out and say not a single job will be affected, Scottish whisky is unassailable” Oct 27, 20:45
Lorncal on Faces In Sand: “Northcode: you are going to be hugely disappointed if and when you go down that route and try to body…” Oct 27, 20:25
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: “So it has to be gloves off on our part. Make the English barsturts rue the day they ever dared…” Oct 27, 20:21
100%Yes on Faces In Sand: “I do love my Bailey’s 1tre at Asda £11.” Oct 27, 20:20
Alf Baird on Faces In Sand: “…e.g. all those ‘democratic mandates’ ignored by the colonizer.” Oct 27, 19:39
Bilbo on Faces In Sand: “Had to laugh at this. https://archive.is/Az6Nl English whisky GI approved with no Scotch impact assessment I say this in light…” Oct 27, 18:29
Oneliner on Faces In Sand: “Members of he Nazi hierarchy were not offered financial inducement for their signed approval. Members of the Scottish nobility of…” Oct 27, 17:42
Alf Baird on Faces In Sand: “International law concerning territorial alienation suggests there is no democracy for people in an annexed country.” Oct 27, 16:09
Minceheid on Faces In Sand: “Hatey McHateface says: 27 October, 2026 at 1:48 pm It could be that I’ve been fraudulently enjoying mental feebleness benefits…” Oct 27, 15:49
Northcode on Faces In Sand: “The Scottish independence movement has never operated at constitutional altitude because it focused on history, identity and party politics instead…” Oct 27, 14:41
Aidan on Faces In Sand: “I’m not sure there’s necessarily right in the context of Scotland Northcode – you are right that there is significant…” Oct 27, 14:13
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: “Sorry to hear that, MH. It could be that I’ve been fraudulently enjoying mental feebleness benefits that should have gone…” Oct 27, 13:48
Minceheid on Faces In Sand: “Hatey McHateface says: 25 October, 2026 at 6:23 pm Mental impairment is a badge of honour these days. It brings…” Oct 27, 13:15
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: “Some good ideas there, Northy, but the idea that the SNP wouldn’t fight like rats in a sack to be…” Oct 27, 13:12
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: “Wheesht, Alf! We dinna want tae tip aff the EU aboot hoo muckle they can rinse us fer when we…” Oct 27, 12:59
Northcode on Faces In Sand: “What Independence Actually Means(my compressed version) Independence is a modern constitutional process, not a feeling or a grievance. 1. Mandate…” Oct 27, 12:14
Captain Caveman on Faces In Sand: “The big problem from an “Indy Scot” perspective is the total dearth of political talent from its Political Class (of…” Oct 27, 11:29
Northcode on Faces In Sand: “Who Negotiates on Scotland’s Behalf After a Mandate? Once Scotland votes for independence, the negotiating team is not automatically the…” Oct 27, 10:51
Alf Baird on Faces In Sand: ““The ‘money’ aspect is huge” Deid richt tae, Scots plundered £150 billion+ a year an mair by a bankrupt England,…” Oct 27, 10:35
100%Yes on Faces In Sand: “Why would I join? When Alex Neil said his strategy is to get support for Independence to a constant 60%…” Oct 27, 10:07
Chas on Faces In Sand: “An accurate summation Northcode. The ancient history guff is for numpties. The MAJORITY of Scots have to want Independence following…” Oct 27, 10:01
Northcode on Faces In Sand: “No Scottish organisation has ever articulated the real, modern, internationally-rounded process that would govern independence negotiations. Not the Scottish Government,…” Oct 27, 09:14
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: “Good point, Xaracen. I guess the surrender signed by Germany in 1945 was voided by the allies coercion bringing them…” Oct 27, 08:24
William Smith on Faces In Sand: “The Irish weren’t immune to a bit if colonisation either – take Scotland, for example – the place is even…” Oct 27, 07:45
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: “Mony a guid idea said in jest, twathater. Sturgeon is still immensely popular in Scotland. An experienced and plausible player…” Oct 27, 07:20
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: “It’s the pitiless crushing gets me down. That, and the eternal promises of cheese which never materialises. I like cheese.” Oct 27, 07:09
