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Nicola Sturgeon’s new book contains “falsehoods at worst, fabrications at best” about her predecessor, Alex Salmond’s former chief of staff has claimed. In his first comments since the book hit the shelves, Geoff Aberdeina accused Sturgeon’s memoir Frankly of “speaking ill of the dead”.

Aberdein, who worked for Mr Salmond when he was the First Minister of Scotland, has mounted a robust defence of Salmond, rebutting three of Sturgeon’s bombshell claims – that he tipped off the Daily Record about his sexual harassment allegations, his involvement in the 2014 independence white paper, and that he was against gay marriage.

“I was brought up that you didn’t speak ill of the dead,” Aberdein ​told the Holyrood Sources podcast. “But if you’re going to speak ill of the dead, at least make your claims accurate.”

Aberdein’s comments echo the frustrations of others close to the late first minister and the former aide confirmed Mr Salmond’s widow Moira was “particularly upset and frustrated at a lot of what has been said of late”.

SNP MSP Michelle Thomson wrote on X: “I know @geoffaberdein to be a decent, honest man. His resetting of the record below, about false claims made is clearly driven by this honest decency.”

Claims that Mr Salmond was the person who leaked the story of the sexual harassment allegations against him are “obviously false”, Mr Aberdein insisted.

He disputes the allegation that Mr Salmond did not read the pro-independence blueprint before the 2014 referendum, known as the “white paper”.

“To suggest, as I think was the purpose of this story, that he was not engaged in the process of a prospectus for independence is utterly nonsense,” he added.

In her memoir Ms Sturgeon spoke out about her “cold fury” with her former leader over his “abdication of responsibility” on the key document.

The former Salmond chief of staff also dismissed claims that Mr Salmond was “apparently against same-sex marriage” – saying that this was “demonstrably false”.

Mr Aberdein said Mr Salmond had “declared his personal support for gay marriage for the first time” in a newspaper article in April 2011.

He added: “I think it was important to set out and correct the record, not just because Alex is not in a position to defend himself, but for myself as well, and the scores of other officials and civil servants that have contacted me.”

Mr Salmond died at the age of 69 last October, he had been giving a speech in North Macedonia on the morning of his death.

Nicola Sturgeon’s office has been contacted for comment.