Alex Salmond’s body to be brought home on private flight

A private individual is paying for a charter flight to bring Alex Salmond’s body back to Scotland from North Macedonia.

The former first minister died suddenly from a heart attack in the Balkan country on Saturday at the age of 69.

There had been calls for an RAF flight to repatriate his body, but it is now confirmed a private charter flight – paid for independently – will fly to Aberdeen.

A private family funeral will be held for the Alba Party leader, followed by a public memorial event at a later date.

No timeline for Salmond’s repatriation has been publicly announced but the Alba Party said details would be made available in due course.

Acting Alba Party leader Kenny MacAskill said Salmond’s family were “grateful” to the private citizen who had charted the flight.

He said: “It brings a great deal of comfort to Moira and other members of the family to know that he will soon be home with them.

“The family have asked that their privacy be respected at this time and will be making an announcement in due course about the funeral arrangements and a memorial service to honour the life of Alex Salmond.”

The statement also thanked the North Macedonian government for expediting the process of releasing his body and both the Scottish and UK governments for their “endeavours” to put plans in place.

Tributes have been paid to former SNP leader Salmond from across the political spectrum in recent days.

During Prime Ministers’ Questions, Sir Keir Starmer described him as a “monumental figure in Scottish and UK politics”.

Tory leader Rishi Sunak and Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey also paid tribute in the Commons.