Alex Salmond has died

Well done to the Macedonian government and Sir Tom Hunter.

Thank you, he was honoured

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, a former SNP MP and Alba Party chairwoman, attended the coffin before it was taken to the plane, and draped it in the Saltire – understood to have been provided by the Scotland Office – as it was taken from a van on the tarmac.

Mr Salmond’s body was carried by six members of the North Macedonian military to the flight, along a red carpet which was flanked by eight other soldiers standing at attention, to the sound of a trumpet.

The soldiers, flight and ground crew observed a moment’s silence before Mr Salmond’s body was loaded onto the flight.

Good he is back in Scotland

Alec is back on home turf, transport kindly funded by Sir Tom Hunter (a great gesture from a fellow Scot).

My first thought when I heard was I hoped he had travel insurance. He wasn't on Government business, travelling as a private individual or as his political party rep. Now, his party want the RAF to fly him home. Sad he was only 69 though.

BlueBelle

I thought he was older than 69
What happened with the sex scandal that surrounded him a few years back I can’t remember was it all dropped

Please read the link provided on page 1 it explains it all

I’m not a fan of Alex or his politics, but feel for his wife. As to the view of his achievements for Scotland neither he or his cohorts were good for Scotland were a more divisive nation than before

paddyann54

Maybe a final swipe at WM as they arranged a regions and devolved governments event in Edinburgh with our new Colonial head none other than Sue Grey!!
Alex Salmond was a brilliant politician who took us to the very edge of being free of WM .
The horrible court case against him was sadly a necessity ,if Nicola had dealt with the allegations in-house we would have been crucified in the media as being crooked…..after all it was Lesley Evan’s who started the witch hunt against him ,Evan’s who worked FOR Wm from the Edinburgh building now clad in Union Jacks,
I remember clearly saying he was innocent and wouldn,t be convicted and I was right.They were trumped up charges meant to cause division and they did,because sadly Alex didn’t see it as a necessity he felt betrayed.That was the reason for ALBA but it split our support and our vote.
I will always have the greatest respect for the man he was but disappointed in the man he became.He was one of the best things to happen to my country in my lifetime .RIP Alex….the dream will never die

"if Nicola dealt with it in-house, WE would have been crucified" - who are the "we", I wonder? I did not always agree with Alex Salmond but he was cleared of the charges against him that SNP govt spent a lot of taxpayers' money on pursuing. Disgraceful misuse of public money imho

I wasn’t a fan, but condolences to his family.

Sad news … not always my cup of tea but a great orator and always had the interests of Scotland foremost

There's another case working it's way through though. I think he was going after SNP for hiding info in the case against him. He may have left papers with his lawyers. Time will tell.

BlueBelle

I thought he was older than 69
What happened with the sex scandal that surrounded him a few years back I can’t remember was it all dropped

He was found not guilty on 12 charges and there was a verdict of not proven on another.

I thought he was older than 69
What happened with the sex scandal that surrounded him a few years back I can’t remember was it all dropped

The Daily Mail are reported that he suffered what is thought to have been a heart attack and collapsed during a lunch after giving a speech at a conference in Macedonia. It says that other attendees tried to revive him but without success
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13953287/alex-salmond-collapsed-heart-attack.html

Very sad that this happened so suddenly

RIP Alex Salmond

eggplant

Its a funnny feeling when people die and you think " That's no age" and realise it is.

Sorry for his friends and family.

69 does seem relatively young though.
His widow Moira is 87.

That sounds quite unexpected.
He was in North Macedonia at a conference.

Shocked to hear he'd died; RIP.

From Glen Campbell the BBC Scottish political advisor . It shows Salmon's darker side
While he could be charming and entertaining, there was also a less pleasant side to his character.
I would wince when sometimes he would show impatience and irritation towards his staff. He could be very demanding of them.
I can also recall bringing a senior BBC editor from the newsroom in London to see him and was astonished when he asked my colleague if he was on a colonial visit.

I am no fan of Alex Salmon but really sorry for his wife who is some years older than he was . She kept well in the background most of the time .

From the Telegraph just now:

“Alex Salmond – known as “Wee Eck” after a nickname from a Sunday newspaper cartoon – outshone the lacklustre, out-of-their-depth domestic politicians.”

He was a man of staunch beliefs and I had to admire him for that.
RIP Mr. Salmond and condolences to your family.

paddyann54

Maybe a final swipe at WM as they arranged a regions and devolved governments event in Edinburgh with our new Colonial head none other than Sue Grey!!
Alex Salmond was a brilliant politician who took us to the very edge of being free of WM .
The horrible court case against him was sadly a necessity ,if Nicola had dealt with the allegations in-house we would have been crucified in the media as being crooked…..after all it was Lesley Evan’s who started the witch hunt against him ,Evan’s who worked FOR Wm from the Edinburgh building now clad in Union Jacks,
I remember clearly saying he was innocent and wouldn,t be convicted and I was right.They were trumped up charges meant to cause division and they did,because sadly Alex didn’t see it as a necessity he felt betrayed.That was the reason for ALBA but it split our support and our vote.
I will always have the greatest respect for the man he was but disappointed in the man he became.He was one of the best things to happen to my country in my lifetime .RIP Alex….the dream will never die

The SNP did deal with it "in house" botched it, he sued and won and it cost the tax payer a fortune.
Lesley Evans simply told Sturgeon there had been accusations raised against Salmond. Sturgeon seemingly "forgot" about that.
Scotland now has a minority government in growing debt and a population suffering because of years of mismanagement, their resounding bleat being it's all Westminster's fault.
It's beyond tedious, and it isn't Salmond's legacy.

Here's Alex at his best ,taking lying unionist MP's to task! Remind me when DID the oil run out ? youtu.be/bPNasRD_X0Q?si=E-BSG7uFfPNBn5uy. decades on and WM are STILL selling licences and taking taxes for oil in Scottish waters .

Maybe a final swipe at WM as they arranged a regions and devolved governments event in Edinburgh with our new Colonial head none other than Sue Grey!!
Alex Salmond was a brilliant politician who took us to the very edge of being free of WM .
The horrible court case against him was sadly a necessity ,if Nicola had dealt with the allegations in-house we would have been crucified in the media as being crooked…..after all it was Lesley Evan’s who started the witch hunt against him ,Evan’s who worked FOR Wm from the Edinburgh building now clad in Union Jacks,
I remember clearly saying he was innocent and wouldn,t be convicted and I was right.They were trumped up charges meant to cause division and they did,because sadly Alex didn’t see it as a necessity he felt betrayed.That was the reason for ALBA but it split our support and our vote.
I will always have the greatest respect for the man he was but disappointed in the man he became.He was one of the best things to happen to my country in my lifetime .RIP Alex….the dream will never die