Nicola Sturgeon has insisted she had no reason to want to "get" Alex Salmond as she dismissed claims of a plot against him as "absurd".
The first minister was speaking at the inquiry into her government's unlawful handling of harassment complaints against her predecessor.
She apologised to the two women who had made the complaints, saying they were let down by a "very serious error".
But she rejected much of Mr Salmond's version of events.
And she insisted her government had nothing to hide, despite accusations of a cover-up from opposition parties.
Mr Salmond has previously claimed several people within the SNP and Scottish government - including Ms Sturgeon's husband Peter Murrell, the party's chief executive - were involved in a "deliberate, prolonged, malicious and concerted effort" to damage his reputation, even to the extent of attempting to have him imprisoned.
Ms Sturgeon said she had "thought often" about the impact of the past three years on Mr Salmond, but said Mr Salmond had shown no sign of thinking of others.
The first minister was speaking at the inquiry into her government's unlawful handling of harassment complaints against her predecessor.
She apologised to the two women who had made the complaints, saying they were let down by a "very serious error".
But she rejected much of Mr Salmond's version of events.
And she insisted her government had nothing to hide, despite accusations of a cover-up from opposition parties.
Mr Salmond has previously claimed several people within the SNP and Scottish government - including Ms Sturgeon's husband Peter Murrell, the party's chief executive - were involved in a "deliberate, prolonged, malicious and concerted effort" to damage his reputation, even to the extent of attempting to have him imprisoned.
Ms Sturgeon said she had "thought often" about the impact of the past three years on Mr Salmond, but said Mr Salmond had shown no sign of thinking of others.
