The women who made sexual assault allegations against Alex Salmond say they have been left “devastated” after he was cleared in court.
A jury found the former first minister not guilty on 52078493 of the sexual assault charges facing him, while another was found not proven.
A further charge of sexually assaulting a th woman had previously been dropped by prosecutors.
Mr Salmond maintained he was innocent throughout the two-week trial.
A legal representative of Mr Salmond has been contacted by the BBC but declined to comment on the women’s statement.
The nine women insisted they would not let the former SNP leader being acquitted defin e them.
And they said that while the experience of taking the case to court had been “traumatic”, it had been the “right thing to do”.
‘Empower women’
In a joint statement, issued through Rape Crisis Scotland, the nine women said: “While we are devastated by the verdict, we will not let it define us.
“We hope through shining a light on our experiences, it will serve to protect and empower women in the future.”
The women spoke out almost a week after the former SNP leader was cleared of the charges he had been facing – including an allegation of attempted rape – by a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh.
The complainers, whose identities are protected by a court order, were identified in the trial only as Woman A, Woman B, Woman C, Woman D, Woman F, Woman G, Woman H, Woman J, and Woman K
They said: “The jury has delivered a majority verdict on the charges brought against the former first minister.
“We are devastated by the verdict. However it is our fervent hope that as a society we can move forward in our understanding of sexual harassment and sexual assault. “
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