On the third day of Alex Salmond's trial, a former Scottish government official known as 'Woman H', who had accused the former Scottish first minister of attempted rape and sexual assault has denied that she engaged in a consensual sexual encounter with him in 2013, the National reports.
"I have never been a willing participant of Alex Salmond's advances towards me and never will be", the witness said while giving evidence at Edinburgh's High Court on Wednesday.
Salmond's lawyer, Ms Shelagh McCall, said that the two had a consensual sexual encounter at Bute House.
"Mr Salmond says he did have an encounter with you, of a sexual nature with you, but it was in August 2013", she said.
McCall asked the witness if she had unbuttoned Salmond's shirt and shared a requited kiss in the Bute House bathroom before he took off his trousers towards his knees, but not his underwear.
"Because is the truth of the matter that Mr Salmond's underpants were not down, just his trousers, during this encounter?", she asked.
Woman H rejected the question, saying she remembers Salmon lying on top of her.
"Absolutely not, as I have got this horrific image of him being fully aroused and lying over me", the witness said.
McCall said the end of the encounter between the two occurred after the witness said to Salmond that she did not mean for it to happen.
"The two of you sat up, put your clothes back on, realised it was a mistake", McCall said.
Woman H denied that presentation of events.
"Absolutely not, it sounds a much better ending of an evening than what actually happened", she said.
McCall then said that the woman had been "embarrassed and upset" following the encounter, but Salmond told her not to worry.
"That's not true", the witness said.
Salmond is facing 14 charges, including allegations of one attempted rape, 11 of sexual assault, and two of indecent assault which involved ten women between 2008 - 2014.
The former first minister adamantly denies all charges and is pleading not guilty on the grounds of consent on four of the charges and claims to have an alibi for another.
