Former first minister Alex Salmond to return to Scotland on a private flight following his death aged 69 – after UK ministers refused pleas to use RAF jet

Former first minister Alex Salmond will return the Scotland on a private flight following his death aged 69, it was confirmed today. 

The separatist Alba Party leader, who led the losing Yes campaign in the 2014 independence referendum, died suddenly from a heart attack in North Macedonia at the weekend.

Alba and Mr Salmond’s friend, the ex-Tory Cabinet minister David Davis, urged the Foreign Office to allow the ‘appropriate means’ of repatriating him.

But the UK government resisted calls for the RAF to be involved, because he was a ‘private citizen’ no longer in public office. 

The PA news agency reported a private flight will be chartered and paid for by an unknown individual to return him to Scotland. 

The separatist Alba Party leader, who led the losing Yes campaign in the 2014 independence referendum, died suddenly from a heart attack in North Macedonia at the weekend.

Alba and Mr Salmond’s first, the ex-Tory leader David Davis, urged the Foreign Office to allow the ‘appropriate means’ of repatriating him.

The flags outside the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, Edinburgh, fly at half mast following the death of Alex Salmond.

The 69-year-old had made a speech at the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy Forum in the city of Ohrid before collapsing at lunch in a crowded room.

The UK Foreign Office has said it is providing consular support to Mr Salmond’s family.

Mr Salmond had led the SNP during the 1990s and then again from 2004 to 2014.

He oversaw a surge in SNP support from a minor party to the one that has governed Scotland since 2007.

He secured the deal with David Cameron on the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 in which 55 per cent of the public voted to remain.

However, Mr Salmond resigned after the plebiscite and was succeeded by Nicola Sturgeon.

The former first minister had a bitter falling out with Ms Sturgeon and quit the SNP in 2018 following allegations of sexual offences against several women.

He would later be cleared in the High Court of all offences and would accuse figures in the Scottish government and SNP of a plot against him, which they denied.

Scotland supporters held a minute’s applause for the late Alex Salmond ahead of the Nations League match against Portugal. The Tartan Army paid tribute to the former first minister who died on Saturday afternoon in North Macedonia from a heart attack.

Reports on Wednesday also suggest there will be a public memorial service held for Mr Salmond, although no details have yet been finalised.

Tributes were paid to the former SNP leader in the House of Commons on Wednesday, with the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer describing him as a ‘monumental figure in Scottish and UK politics’, who left a ‘lasting legacy’.

Both Tory leader Rishi Sunak and Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey also paid tribute.