Alex Salmonds fury at BBC documentary as former colleagues criticise his behaviour

A furious Alex Salmond yesterday accused the BBC of ‘venomous and institutional bias’ following a documentary about the history of the SNP.

The former first minister, who had agreed to be interviewed for the two-part documentary, hit out at the broadcaster after he was criticised by former colleagues.

Former friends and colleagues Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf both accused Mr Salmond of unacceptable behaviour during his time as leader of the party.

They said he was guilty of an ‘abuse of power’ during his leadership and was known to have angry ‘outbursts’ towards those below him.

But a humiliated Mr Salmond yesterday took to social media to blast his critics, aiming most of his ire at the BBC.

Alex Salmond has blasted the BBC after they aired the documentary

In his online rant, he complained that the documentary, Salmond and Sturgeon - A Troubled Union, had attempted to portray ‘history as a psycho drama’.

But BBC bosses say the programme aimed to provide an ‘in-depth look’ at the SNP’s past over the last three decades from a range of different people.

A clearly upset Mr Salmond urged viewers to ‘switch off’ even before the first episode was broadcast on television last night (Tue).

After the second part of the documentary went live on BBC iPlayer, the Alba Party leader went on X to say he’d been invited to take part in a ‘blue chip’ history of the rise of the SNP by Firecrest Films for the BBC.

But he told his followers: ‘For any independence supporter to trust a single word the BBC, or associated organisation, say is one of the great mistakes in life.’

He accused the broadcaster of ‘venomous and institutional bias against Scottish independence’ and added: ‘I should have smelled a rat immediately, instead of believing the assurances that they willingly gave, that they were intent on making serious programming.’

His comments came just hours after the second episode became available on the on-demand service calling the programme a ‘soap opera history’.

It featured Ms Sturgeon talking about how her former boss would get ‘out of control’ and was difficult to work alongside.

The pair’s relationship broke down when he faced harassment allegations from his time as First Minister and the subsequent Holyrood inquiry into the way the Scottish Government handled the complaints.

The documentary features Nicola Sturgeon and others criticising the former SNP leader

Mr Salmond, who was cleared of all charges after a criminal trial, said: ‘The first episode, starting 1987 offered some hope, but the urge to portray history as a psycho drama between me and Nicola Sturgeon meant that major figures such as Winnie Ewing, Jim Sillars, Alex Neil, and Margo MacDonald were written out to allow others to be written in.’

He went on to say: ‘The second episode plumbed new depths even for the BBC-soap opera history. In this parody, half built ferries, bottle schemes, self-ID law, male rapists in female prisons and blue tents outside houses do not rate even a sole mention in explaining the decline of the Party.

‘Instead, a collection of SNP loyalists (and Liz Lloyd) who are the same people jointly and severally liable for the Party’s recent reverses, are paraded. The case for reality is left to the redoubtable Kenny MacAskill.

‘My advice, turn it off after the first episode which at least has some interesting old footage.’

But Mr Salmond’s criticism was not only reserved for the BBC.

He also blasted Ms Sturgeon’s successor Humza Yousaf, who in the programme accused him of abusing his power in office.

In response, Mr Salmond said: ‘And what can be said about poor Humza “the brief”, the new self-appointed authority on personal conduct and morality?

‘In a programme which was supposed to be about the history of the rise of the SNP, a party defined by towering figures like Winnie Ewing and Neil MacCormick, Humza Yousaf confirms himself as an unfortunate footnote.

‘In his quest for relevance, he is reduced to smears. I am comfortable with my contribution as First Minister to advancing Scotland’s interests and the cause of independence. I doubt Humza can say the same, nor that it will be said of him.’

A BBC spokesperson said: ‘The series provides an in-depth look at the recent history of the SNP from 1987 to 2023 and includes a broad range of contributors who share their insights.’

The two-part series is being aired on BBC iPlayer, with the second episode also due to be broadcast on BBC Scotland on Wednesday night.