Former first minister of Scotland Alex Salmond has denied claims of harassment made against him.
The Daily Record reported that allegations about his conduct towards two staff members in 2013 - while he was in office - have been handed to police.
In a statement, Mr Salmond denied the claims and said he has been prevented from properly challenging them by Scottish government procedure.
He has begun a court action to contest the complaints process that was activated against him.
The Scottish government confirmed it received two complaints in January regarding Mr Salmond.
In his statement, Mr Salmond said: "For many months now, and on the advice of senior counsel, I have attempted to persuade the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish government that she is behaving unlawfully in the application of a complaints procedure, introduced by her more than three years after I left office.
"This is a procedure so unjust that even now I have not been allowed to see and therefore to properly challenge the case against me. I have not been allowed to see the evidence."
He went on: "The Permanent Secretary chose to deny me contact with any current civil servant, many of whom wished to give evidence on my behalf, and access to documentation to allow me to properly challenge the complaints, all of which I refute and some of which were patently ridiculous.
"The procedure as put into operation by the Permanent Secretary is grossly unfair and therefore inevitably will lead to prejudicial outcomes.
"It is therefore with great reluctance that I have today launched a Judicial Review in the Court of Session which will decide the issue of the lawfulness of the procedure which has been used against me," said Mr Salmond.
A Scottish government spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that Alex Salmond has initiated legal proceedings against the Scottish government and as a result we are restricted in what we can say.
"However, the Scottish government will defend its position vigorously. As a matter of principle and integrity, it is vital that any allegations of harassment are treated seriously and investigated thoroughly, regardless of the identity of the party involved."
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "Complaints were made in January relating to Alex Salmond by two individuals.
"These complaints have been considered since then under a procedure covering ministers and former ministers that was agreed by me in December 2017 in the wake of public concern about harassment.
"Although I have been aware for some time of the fact of the investigation - initially from Alex Salmond - I have had no role in the process, and to have referred to it before now would have compromised the integrity of the internal investigation, which I was not prepared to do.
"However, I was informed by the Permanent Secretary earlier this week that she had completed her investigation and that she intended to make the fact of the complaints public.
"Alex Salmond is now challenging the Scottish Government's procedure in court. The Scottish Government refutes his criticisms of its process and will defend its position vigorously.
"However, this focus on process cannot deflect from the fact that complaints were made that could not be ignored or swept under the carpet."
