ALEX Salmond was twice asked to remove controversial sections from his best-selling diary about the independence referendum, The Sunday Post can reveal.
All former First Ministers who write memoirs about their time in office are obliged to show a draft of the book to the Scottish Government to ensure they are not betraying any confidences or giving away damaging state secrets.
Under freedom of information laws, The Sunday Post asked for all correspondence between Mr Salmond and the then top civil Sir Peter Housden regarding his book The Dream Shall Never Die.
The documents released by the Scottish Government include a letter from Sir Peter to Mr Salmond in February last year asking the former SNP leader to reflect on “matters in the manuscript which cause me concern”.
A follow-up letter sent the next month saw Sir Peter thank Mr Salmond for making changes to the 127-page manuscript but flag up further passages of the book for the ex-First Minister to reflect on.
Mr Salmond, who was thanked by Sir Peter for his “constructive engagement during this process”, complied with the request and the book was published in April last year.
Scotland’s information commissioner ruled that the content of the axed passages must remain confidential.
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