Scotland's former first minister Alex Salmond on Tuesday claimed some of the sexual assault claims against him were fabricated for political reasons, as he began giving evidence at his trial.
Salmond, who led the Scottish National Party's unsuccessful 2014 campaign for independence, is on trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, charged with 13 sexual offences against nine women.
He denies the charges. His legal team has submitted special defences of consent and alibi.
"From where I stand now, I wish I had been more careful with people's personal space, but there was no intention whatsoever to offend," he told the court.
"But I'm of the opinion, for a variety of reasons, that events are being reinterpreted and exaggerated out of all possible proportion."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content