Bill Walker facing assault charges claims he is victim of 'smear campaign' An MSP who is on trial for domestic assault told police he was being subjected to a "smear campaign" that was being "orchestrated" by his two ex-wives. Bill Walker denied assaulting three ex-wives and a step-daughter when officers detained him following the allegations. On Friday, Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard Walker, 71, told police his second partner Anne Gruber, 71, and third partner, Diana Walker, were behind an attempt to blacken his name. He also told detectives they were working with a man called Armstrong who was "absolutely fixated" on getting him into trouble. The former SNP member, who sits for Dunfermline in the Scottish Parliament, said they had contacted a Sunday newspaper to wrongly allege he had abused them when he was married to them. Walker, from Alloa, Clacks, denies 23 charges of domestic abuse and one charge of breach of the peace between the 1960s and 1990s. On Friday, DS Paul Dick told depute procurator fiscal Les Brown that Walker claimed his ex-wives had been in contact with each other. Walker told DS Dick he thought they and a man called Armstrong were spreading false information about him to media outlets. Reading from a transcript of the interview, DS Dick said Walker thought Anne had been in touch with Diana and that they were "co-ordinating" a "smear campaign" with Armstrong. Walker added: "And there's a guy who is absolutely fixated with doing me down. He had a huge amount of documents that he's handed to the press. During the interview, Mr Walker also said claims he entered Anne Gruber's home carrying an air rifle in a bid to intimidate her as "utter rubbish." DS Dick also said at various points in the interview Walker started laughing when asked about his alleged criminal behaviour. Walker has pleaded not guilty to a total of 24 charges. Prosecutors allege Mr Walker assaulted Maureen Traquair, Anne Walker, Anne Louise Paterson and Diana Walker at addresses in Edinburgh, Stirling, Midlothian and Alloa between January 1967 and January 1995. Lawyers acting for Walker have lodged special defences of self defence to three of the charges.