Alex Salmond: A politician who loved creating headlines

Alex Salmond reveled in generating controversies; in fact, he was the kind of political leader that became heady with power. Likely he’ll be let down if he gave an interview that was not significant enough to be a news item.

When I was a young radio journalist, we had to take him to a business breakfast session, which at the time he was using to call for the UK to enter the single European currency.

When I suggested this was not new, that he’d said it many times before, he said: She said in response: “Yes, but I’m saying it more forcefully now because the case is more urgent.”

Anything which would make his contribution to count.

The time with him would only make you get home late. He was NOT particular about interview times and loved more talking, arguing, and perhaps additional bragging after the acoustical session.

I can recall conducting a brief interview with him when he was still starting his term as first minister in Bute House in Edinburgh.

The interview was over, I wanted to leave, but he took me through the house to a cupboard and thing about such a collection of silverware to tell me the story.

He was often witty, could telling great jokes and triumphs of wit, and always had political insights into the political news of the week, but there was an uglier side to this man too.

I cringe when at times he was rude and adverse towards his subordinates. Often, he could be very particular with them.

I also recall taking a senior BBC editor from the newsroom in London to see him and the editor looked at my colleague and wondered if he were on a colonial visit.

So he had a love/hate thing with the BBC. C4 liked it when he was invited to appear on a network programme, such as Question Time, especially when his political fortunes were waning.

At other times, he would rant about output he disliked, output he failed to admit was the result of a conflict he was also unwilling to admit had previously occurred.

He was not pleased that I talked to, and quoted, one of the women who accused him of sexual assault in court, especially after he was cleared of ALL charges.

It was not to re-try the case but to support his allegation of political conspiracy or political prosecution at that. I am not sure he forgave me for that.

I accompanied him to Europe, United States and China. It is not an easy experience for a man who once arrived very early one morning at the Forbidden City in Beijing to meet China’s vice-premier in the hope of investing in China only to be locked out.

Citron tells a lot that if it could have been captured on film it would have been an excellent positive footagae for television. He assumed that we had recorded this awkward moment and proceeded to give me a brief on what exactly happened and a few titbits with the proviso that I did not report on it.

Essentially, politics was Alex Salmond’s life and the moment they removed him from parliament in 2017 he looked lost.

We met later in Edinburgh and by coincidence, had a taxi together to Waverley station. Of course, we discussed politics and when it was time to leave he continued with the conversation.

We spoke much less in the last years.” He decline to participate in a podcast series that I did on Nicola Sturgeon’s years in power – which of course would have covered the truly dramatic split between them.

That was not like him. In all my previous experience, he has seldom had a false move in the media business.

Smarter in his opinion to go out there and speak out his side of the story than sit back and wait for others to write stories for him.