Nicola Sturgeon is not invited to Alex Salmond‘s funeral and memorial service following their historic fall out, it was reported Sunday.
The former first minister will not be invited to her predecessor’s service or any other celebrations of his life, with a source close to Salmond telling the Sunday Mail there was ‘not a chance in hell’ of her being on the guest list.
Sturgeon and Salmond had formed one of the most powerful partnerships in British politic after Salmond took over leadership of the SNP for a second time in 2004.
But the pair experienced a major public fall out six years ago in the wake of sexual harassment allegations against Salmond in January 2018.
Their rift deepened even further after police began investigating the former SNP leader, who was later cleared of all charges in a trial.
Nicola Sturgeon will be banned from Alex Salmond’s funeral and memorial service
Sources close to Sturgeon have revealed she was ‘shocked and sorry’ to learn of her former ally’s passing
Kenny MacAskill stands with Salmond’s family and friends as his body arrived back at Aberdeen Airport on October 18
However, several sources close to Salmond denied the Sunday Mail report, claiming who would and would not be attending the funeral and memorial service was yet to be decided.
Salmond’s body returned to Scotland on Friday in a Saltire-draped coffin after the Alba Party leader died of a heart attack, aged 69, while attending a conference in North Macedonia on October 12.
His wife Moira, sister Gail and acting Alba Party leader Kenny MacAskill were at Aberdeen Airport to greet the coffin while a piper played Freedom Come All Ye as it was transported from the plane.
The hearse then made its way from Aberdeen Airport to Fraserburgh while being led by the pro-independence Yes Bikers group.
‘The turnout at every town and village, every lay-by, every car park, people coming out of their homes, was so touching to the family,’ Mr MacAskill said.
‘They were deeply heartened by the affection and warmth shown.’
It is understood funeral plans are being arranged for the end of the month with an intimate service due to take place close to Salmond’s home in Aberdeenshire.
A larger public memorial event is also likely to take place in Edinburgh, potentially on St Andrews Day.
‘It will be a very small private service with only family attending,’ a source who was close to Salmond told The Sunday Mail.
Salmond died of a heart attack, aged 69, while attending a conference in North Macedonia on October 12
Salmond and Sturgeon had formed one of the most formidable partnerships in British politics after Mr Salmond took over the leadership of the SNP for a second time in 2004
‘There will be a larger memorial celebration later in the year, or possibly into January, for Alex’s supporters, friends and old colleagues.
‘Nicola Sturgeon won’t be invited to either of them. Not a chance in hell.’
Friends of Sturgeon have told the outlet the former first minister has been left ‘devastated’ by the loss of her former ally.
One senior SNP source said: ‘It’s been a lot for Nicola and I think she doesn’t know what to feel. She’s completely devastated by Alex’s death.
‘Even though they had clearly fallen out of favour with one another, he was a huge part of her life for a long time. His death came as a complete shock to us all.’
Sturgeon said, following Salmond’s death, that she was ‘shocked and sorry’ to learn of his passing.
While acknowledging their previous tensions, she also insisted that Salmond had been ‘an incredibly significant figure in my life’ for ‘many years’.
She added: ‘He was my mentor, and for more than a decade we formed one of the most successful partnerships in UK politics’.
The pair last spoke in 2018 when Salmond was urging Sturgeon to intervene in a civil service investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against him.
Two female civil servants made the complaints after Sturgeon ordered new Scottish Government policies on sexual harassment to be implemented in the wake of the #MeToo scandal.
Salmond denied any wrongdoing and later claimed Sturgeon’s new policies had been designed to target him.
He had also accused people close to Sturgeon, including her husband Peter Murrell and aide Liz Lloyd, of plotting against him and claimed there was a conspiracy in government to ‘banish him’ from public life.
Salmond later won a victory in the civil courts which found the Scottish Government investigation had been unlawful and ‘tainted with apparent bias’ with the Scottish Government ordered to pay Salmond’s £512,000 legal fees.
