Mourners pay respects to Alex Salmond at funeral following sudden loss of life aged 69

Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has been laid to rest following his sudden death.

Politicians including former Commons Speaker John Bercow, gathered in Strichen, Aberdeenshire, for his funeral. Mourners heard Mr Salmond, who held the top job from 2007 to 2014, took the nation “so close to his dream of independence”.

His coffin was draped in the Saltire, Scotland’s national flag, at the service. Current First Minister John Swinney did not attend. Mr Salmond, who headed the SNP before setting up the Alba Party, had been speaking at a conference in Macedonia when he suffered a fatal heart attack aged 69.

Acting Alba leader Kenny MacAskill described him as “a giant of a man, the leader of our country, the leader of our movement”. And he said Mr Salmond was “an inspiration, a political genius, an orator, debater and communicator without parallel”.

He said Mr Salmond was “the outstanding political figure in Scotland not just of his generation but for generations past and likely for generations to come”. Mr MacAskill added: “The legacy he bequeathed is all around. From roads and bridges to rights such as free prescriptions and no tuition fees.”

Mr Salmond’s niece Christina Hendry told the service that in the period since his death, “we have felt the grief of a nation, and beyond”. He led the SNP until the 2014 independence referendum, which saw Scots vote to remain part of the UK.

Mr MacAskill remembered Mr Salmond as “a man who through his lifetime’s efforts restored pride in our nation and took us so close to his dream of independence”

Political figures at the service included Mr Bercow and Alba Party chairwoman Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh. Former SNP MPs Jim Sillars and Joanna Cherry. A public memorial service to remember the former First Minister will be held at a later date.

Mr Swinney, who currently holds the position, will lead tributes to Mr Salmond at a motion of condolence in Holyrood on Wednesday. A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The First Minister and Cabinet recorded their sympathies to Mr Salmond’s wife Moira and their wider family.”

Mr Salmond died suddenly on October 12. Mark Donfried, director of the Academy for Cultural Diplomacy, said attendees at the conference were eating lunch when they saw him collapse while trying to open a ketchup bottle.

The Alba Party later confirmed in a note commemorating their dead leader that a post-mortem found he had died of a heart attack.