A former Conservative MP has launched a scathing attack on Nicola Sturgeon following revelations in the ex-First Minister's autobiography about private conversations with the late Queen Elizabeth.

The controversy centres on claims in Sturgeon's new memoir "Frankly" that the monarch sought details about sexual misconduct allegations against Alex Salmond during a meeting at Balmoral Castle in September 2018.

Discussing this on GB News, Firth fumed: "I really don’t particularly like Nicola Sturgeon. I think she’s a pretty awful woman, and anything she has to say about our wonderful, dear late Queen, unless it’s 100 per cent complimentary, I’m not very interested in reading it.

Anna Firth fumed over the claims in the book

"And this, I find particularly gruesome. Really, I think it’s true that the late Queen did like a bit of gossip, but in a very appropriate way. She knew so much about people and places, and I think that’s true.

"But then Sturgeon goes on to say that she wanted the details about Alex Salmond’s sex claims. I just do not believe that at all."

GB News host Eamonn Holmes asked: “Did you want the details?”

She said: "Not really. I was not in the least bit interested. I mean, obviously I think it was all disgusting and appalling, and as for Alex Salmond, I’m glad he was completely and utterly discredited."

Eamonn asked: "Are there not questions about Nicola Sturgeon that you would want answered?"

She said: “Well, I mean, I think we all know, don’t we? She’s been totally exposed. I don’t approve of people selling autobiographies, disclosing conversations that were supposed to be confidential.

"It’s always been an unwritten rule that your conversations with the monarch are confidential, and she’s seeking to profit from that and I don’t like that."

According to Sturgeon's autobiography, the monarch brought up the Salmond matter almost immediately during their September 2018 encounter at the royal Scottish residence.

The former Scottish leader writes that she was taken aback when the Queen enquired about the scandal, having expected the topic would remain unmentioned.

"She asked me about it almost as soon as I sat down. She wanted to know more of what was going on," Sturgeon recounts in her 470-page memoir.

The book portrays the late monarch as someone who "loved a bit of gossip" and "always wanted to hear the stories behind the political headlines."

The book portrays the late monarch as someone who "loved a bit of gossip" and "always wanted to hear the stories behind the political headlines."

Sturgeon maintains the Queen wasn't being frivolous but genuinely sought to understand the situation whilst attempting to make her guest comfortable

Salmond, who passed away in October 2024 at 69 years old, had served as Scotland's First Minister before Sturgeon succeeded him in the role.