Christina Hendry, who spoke at Salmond’s memorial service in St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh after his death from a heart attack last November, said Sturgeon’s “actions are disappointing and unfair” and requested she stop.

She told The Times that the former first minister’s comments had caused further distress to Salmond’s family almost a year after his death.

READ MORE: Richard Walker: Nicola Sturgeon’s memoir gives plenty of insight but isn’t that frank

Ahead of the publication of her memoir Frankly, Sturgeon, who was deputy first minister at the time, insisted that Salmond “really didn’t engage in the work of the drafting or the compilation of the White Paper at all” and “hadn’t read” the white paper on independence in 2014.

The former Scottish first minister also wrote in her autobiography that she thought either Salmond or his allies were guiding some opposition MSPs on what to ask her during the investigation into the Scottish Government’s handling of sexual harassment allegations against Salmond.

She accused her opponents in the special Holyrood committee of a “witch-hunt” against her.

The committee ultimately found Sturgeon had misled the Scottish Parliament over the Salmond inquiry. However, she said the probe that “really mattered” was the independent investigation by senior Irish lawyer James Hamilton, which cleared her of breaking the ministerial code.

Hendry, 29, said: “It is not even a year since my uncle Alex passed away, yet Nicola Sturgeon feels it appropriate to launch a new wave of personal attacks and scurrilous accusations.

“Of course, it is no coincidence the timing of these attacks; when her book is being launched and when my uncle is not here to defend himself, as he would have done with every fibre of his being. Her actions are disappointing and deeply unfair.

“It shows a complete lack of human decency and empathy. Our sincere wish now is that it should stop, to prevent further distress to the family.”

Kenny MacAskill, Salmond’s successor as Alba leader, added: “We all knew that Nicola Sturgeon’s book was not going to be kind to Alex Salmond or easy on his family, but what has been published plumbs even lower depths than we ever imagined.

“The suggestions and accusations have been immediately and firmly rebutted by other ministers in Alex’s cabinet and even journalists who were far from favourable towards him. Sturgeon has shown she is without honour.”