Actor says Ms. H was at Bute House dinner in the evening, she claims that Alex Salmond attempted to rape her

An actor said yesterday that a former Scottish government official was at a dinner at Bute House the evening that Alex Salmond allegedly attempted to rape her.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons but is named Ms. H, has informed a court of two alleged incidents, including an accusation that the 65-year-old woman attempted to rape her in June 2014.

A recording of a Police Scotland interview conducted via Skype last year was broadcast in the courtroom, when a guest that an actor claimed to have met the complainant during dinner.

Asked by Chief Detective Inspector Graeme McLachlan, the man said that the evening's atmosphere was cheerful and that he described the building as musty.

He said that a bottle of red wine had been drunk among the four guests, including him, and he thought that Ms. H was wearing jeans but was not sure. The actor said that Ms. H and Salmond spoke to each other as friends and allies and that he had seen nothing that worried him.

The court learned that the interview had been carried out as part of a police investigation called Operation Diem.

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

He said he did not remember logging in to the main door and that he was led to the main room of the building on the first floor.

The actor added that he had dug (his) brains to think of the names because I knew you (the police) would ask for it.

He said that outside of Salmond and himself, there were two other guests, the woman he identified as Mrs. H and another lady, who was not named for legal reasons.

In the room there was a sautoir 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 an independence book titled Scotlands Future.

They entered the closet where they had alcohol, and the actor said that everyone was drinking alcohol. He didn't remember seeing soft drinks, but there was water.

Asked about the amount of drink consumed by people, the actor replied: I can't speak to how alcohol affects you. I don't know how you are when you have two or three glasses of wine.

He said some people were completely drunk after a few glasses of wine but added that no one behaved like in church.

When asked if he thought someone was under the influence, the actor replied: Not really.

The man said he did not remember if one of the guests had been injured.

The actor said he was fairly sober, adding: Wed only drank a bottle between four.

He said that Salmond took him with Mrs. H to the cabinet of Bute House, where the Prime Minister of the day gave him the signed copy of Scotlands Future.

When he left Bute House at around 11:00 p.m., he said that Ms. H had stayed in the building with Salmond.

The man said that Salmond and Mrs. H were on the landing at the top of the stairs. The actor said he was out to hail a taxi.

Salmond filed a special alibi defense on the May dates indicated in the charge, stating that he was elsewhere.

Yesterday in cross-examination by Shelagh McCall, QC, representative of Salmond, Ms. H described in detail for the first time the experience of the alleged attempted rape.

She said: I found the first reminder quite traumatic. I was in total shock.

I found it really difficult. I felt like I couldn't cope with the stress at the time, I just wanted to be somewhere else.

Earlier, the court learned that as a result of the alleged rape attempt, Ms. H was upset the next day and withdrew from an event she was supposed to attend.

Ms. H agreed yesterday that she had sent work-related tweets that day, but said that she always sends tweets as part of her work.

Salmond has filed special defenses for some of the charges against him, claiming that the alleged victims had consented, while he has also filed an alibi plea for a single charge.