Alex Salmond‘s eulogies characterised him as an ‘outstanding political figure’ who led the way in Scotland’s 2014 fight for independence – as allies made a fiery pushback against what they saw as attempts to blacken his name in later life.
A private funeral was held for the former SNP leader in Strichen, Aberdeenshire on Tuesday attended by his closest family, friends and political allies following his death from a heart attack in North Macedonia earlier this month.
Eulogies were given by Kenny MacAskill, acting leader of Mr Salmond’s Alba party, his niece Christina Hendry and SNP MP Fergus Ewing – the latter of whom vowed to ‘seek justice’ for the veteran politician after his dramatic departure from the SNP.
Mr Ewing is reported to have told the Strichen Parish Church gathering how the lifelong independence campaigner had been the target of ‘recent and rather pathetic attempts to rewrite history’, downsizing his role in campaigning.
Mr Salmond led the Scottish National Party for 20 years, joining the first Scottish Parliament as an MSP and later securing an agreement with then-prime minister David Cameron to hold a referendum on independence as first minister.
Alex Salmond, who died earlier this month, was an ‘outstanding political figure’ who had been the subject of ‘pathetic attempts’ to downplay his role in Scottish politics, his allies say
Mr Salmond’s funeral was held on Tuesday in the Aberdeenshire village of Strichen he called home
Fergus Ewing (right) said he would ‘seek justice’ for Alex Salmond following his death
Kenny MacAskill, acting leader of Salmond’s Alba party, said his former boss was a ‘political genius… without parallel’
Alex Salmond’s widow Moira (centre) arrives at his funeral. The pair were married in 1981 and had no children
But while Mr Salmond ‘utterly dominated’ the campaign, Mr Ewing said, his achievements had been eroded by others in the independence movement.
Nevertheless, ‘countless’ SNP MPs and MSPs ‘owe their living to him’, he said, according to The Telegraph.
Mr Ewing told the service that he could not ‘do justice’ for Mr Salmond with his eulogy, but added: ‘Something that I can do, working with many others – something that I have sought to do when Alex was with us – is to seek justice for Alex.
‘And for the cause of truth and democracy. In that task I am devoted. But that is for one day, but not for this day.’
Mr Salmond collapsed as he reportedly tried to open a bottle of ketchup at the Cultural Diplomacy Forum in Ohrid on October 11 – prompting tributes from across the political spectrum and from the King and Queen.
His coffin was led into the church on Tuesday morning topped with a wreath and draped in the Saltire. Mourners were handed orders of service bearing the slogan ‘The Dream Shall Never Die’ as they entered the church on Tuesday.
Several political figures were among the mourners, including former Commons speaker John Bercow and Alba Party chairwoman Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, with whom Salmond also worked on his television programmes.
Former SNP MPs Jim Sillars and Joanna Cherry also attended, as did close friend SNP MSP Fergus Ewing and his sister Annabelle Ewing, and Mr Salmond’s former chief of staff, Geoff Aberdein.
Among those not attending was first minister John Swinney – once a key ally of Salmond’s who led the party after his 2000 resignation – who instead will lead a motion of condolence at Holyrood today.
Alex Salmond served twice as SNP leader: once from 1990 to 2000 and again from 2004 until after the 2014 referendum, which saw Scots vote 55 per cent to 45 per cent to remain in the United Kingdom.
Images of a downtrodden Salmond, sat defeated in the back of his car, became a tragically enduring image. He became MP for Gordon in 2015, losing the seat two years later, before controversially joining Russian broadcaster RT.
He quit RT after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, taking his show online before transferring it to Turkish public broadcaster TRT.
Amidst this, Mr Salmond fought off a flurry of sexual misconduct allegations including claims of rape and sexual assault, of which he was cleared following a trial in 2020.
He also won a judicial review against the Scottish Government after a court found that an internal investigation into the allegations had been handled unlawfully and with ‘apparent bias’ – with taxpayers stumping up £512,000 to cover his legal fees.
Mr Salmond had alleged that a conspiracy among senior SNP figures inspired by Nicola Sturgeon had sought to see him jailed – a claim his successor has denied.
Mourners were handed an order of service subtitled ‘The Dream Will Never Die’ – a nod to Mr Salmond’s lifelong fight for Scottish independence
Mr Salmond’s coffin was borne into Strichen Parish Church draped in a Saltire and dressed with a wreath
Following the service, he was driven to the local cemetery in a procession led by piper Fergus Mutch, who previously worked with Mr Salmond
A number of Mr Salmond’s closest political friends attended the funeral, including SNP-turned-Alba MSP Ash Regan (pictured)
Former SNP MP Joanna Cherry (left) and ex-Speaker John Bercow (right) were also among those to attend
But after went on to join and lead the Alba party – made up of a number of former SNP members including Mr MacAskill, MP Neale Hanvey and MSP Ash Regan, who left the SNP after it planned to streamline the gender recognition process in Scotland.
At the time of his death he was seeking damages and compensation from the government for loss of earnings amidst the scandal.
Whether the case will continue is a decision for his widow Moira. The pair were married in 1981. They had no children.
Alba acting leader Mr MacAskill, a one-time justice secretary in Alex Salmond’s Scottish Government, used his eulogy to hail his former boss as ‘a giant of a man, the leader of our country, the leader of our movement’.
Describing him as ‘an inspiration, a political genius, an orator, debater and communicator without parallel’, Mr MacAskill 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’.
He added: ‘The legacy he bequeathed is all around. From roads and bridges to rights such as free prescriptions and no tuition fees.’
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’.
He added: ‘Politics wasn’t a career for him even if he excelled in its arts. He was committed to Scotland and independence, spurning overtures to join other parties. But he rejected them all.’
He said the former first minister ‘had a dream of what Scotland could be, and a strategy to achieve it’, as he recalled him ‘building a party which then took office, and which so nearly won the referendum‘.
He recalled his time in office after the SNP first won the 2007, saying while Mr Salmond led a team of ministers with no previous experience in government in a minority administration in Holyrood, his ‘vision and deft handling’ had ensured that his government was ‘recognised even by opponents as credible, capable and competent’.
Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, chair of the Alba Party and a close friend of Mr Salmond, pictured at the funeral on Tuesday
Nicola Sturgeon, who succeeded Alex Salmond as SNP leader (pictured together in 2013), did not attend the service
First minister John Swinney did not attend the service. He will instead lead a motion of remembrance in the Scottish Parliament today
Mr MacAskill went on to say that under Mr Salmond the SNP had enjoyed ‘unprecedented electoral success in 2011’ with its Holyrood majority ‘something unlikely ever to be repeated’.
While a ‘a very public figure’, Mr MacAskill said Mr Salmond had been ‘fiercely protective of his private life and Moira and the family’, and was a ‘cherished and loving husband, brother, uncle’, as well as a ‘friend to many’.
Mr Salmond’s niece Christina Hendry told the service since his death, ‘we have felt the grief of a nation, and beyond’.
Speaking at the service at Strichen Parish Church, attended only by family and close friends, she added: ‘For everyone in this room we have felt the loss differently.
‘Uncle Alex was an important person to many, but to us he was a husband, a brother, an uncle, a colleague and a dear friend.’
The service concluded with a procession through Strichen to the village cemetery for a private committal, led by piper Fergus Mutch, who previously worked with Mr Salmond. A public memorial will be held on a later date.