LONDON – Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon strongly denied being part of a plot against her predecessor, as she testified under oath Wednesday in a political saga that is tearing apart her party and imperiling her position as Scotland’s leader.
Sturgeon defended the way her government handled sexual assault claims against former First Minister Alex Salmond, saying the #MeToo movement had made it clear that sexual abuse allegations about powerful people must not be “ignored or swept under the carpet.” Sturgeon was giving her side of the story to a committee of lawmakers investigating a political and personal feud that is wracking Scotland’s pro-independence movement and the governing Scottish National Party.