Furious Scots booed as Scottish First Minister John Swinney attended a memorial service for Alex Salmond in Edinburgh on Saturday.
Shouts of ‘traitor’ and ‘shame on you’ were called as Mr Swinney arrived at St Giles’ Cathedral for the service remembering the life of former Scottish first minister, Mr Salmond, who died in North Macedonia in October at the age of 69.
Following the service, Mr Swinney faced further criticism and cries of ‘traitor’ as he left the cathedral.
The shouts appeared to come from supporters of Mr Salmond’s Alba Party, according to the Telegraph, which he formed after he left the SNP in 2018 amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
In March 2020, he was cleared of all charges, with a jury finding him not guilty of 12 charges, with another charge dropped by prosecutors and another found not proven.
At the time, Mr Salmond alleged that senior SNP figures close to his successor, Nicola Sturgeon, were conspiring to imprison him. Ms Sturgeon has denied these claims.
At the time of his death, Mr Salmond, who was first minister for seven years and led the Scottish Independence campaign in 2014, was seeking ‘significant damages’ and compensation for the loss of earnings from the Scottish Government, which totalled a reported £3m.
The memorial service on Saturday followed a private family funeral which was held near Mr Salmond’s home in Strichen, Aberdeenshire, on Friday.
More than 500 people, including family, friends and politicians from across the political spectrum attended the service.
Attendees included the likes of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Tory grandee and former Brexit Minister Sir David Davis, who gave a reading, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, former Labour first minister Henry McLeish and Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay.
Nicola Sturgeon, who previously described Mr Salmond as her mentor, was not present at the service and instead attended the funeral of Scottish comedian Janey Godley in Glasgow.
It is thought that Ms Sturgeon was not invited to the service. She told BBC Scotland her ‘thoughts are with Alex’s family and friends today’.
Reverend Dr George J Whyte, a former principal clerk to the general assembly of the Church of Scotland and chaplain to the King, led the remembrance service for Mr Salmond, where The Proclaimers performed Cap in Hand.
Brothers and bandmates Craig and Charlie Reid said: ‘We’re going to do this for Alex, with love and respect and eternal gratitude for everything you did for our country’.
There were also a performances by Dougie MacLean, who sang his folk ballad Caledonia, and Sheena Wellington, who led mourners in a rendition of Robert Burns’ classic A Man’s A Man For A’ That.
Kenny MacAskill, who founded pro-independence party Alba with Mr Salmond, told the congregation, which included Mr Salmond’s widow Moira, that he had been a ‘giant of a man’.
He hailed his late friend as ‘an inspiration, a political genius’ and being ‘most of all a man who had the cause of independence burned into his heart and seared in his soul’.
‘Those of us who share his dream must conclude that journey on his behalf’, he said. ‘That’s the legacy he’d expect and the duty we owe him’.
Recalling Mr Salmond’s words from when he stood down as first minister that ‘the dream shall never die’, Mr MacAskill concluded his address with the words: ‘Your dream shall be delivered.’
He also referred to Mr Salmond’s final post on X, formerly known as Twitter, in which he criticised Mr Swinney for taking part in Sir Keir Starmer’s Council of the Nations and Regions.
In the post, he wrote that Mr Swinney ‘should have politely declined the meeting with the words ‘Scotland is a country not a county”.
Mr MacAskill told the congregation Mr Salmond had been ‘lambasting those demeaning our land and chastising those supinely allowing it to happen’.
Mr Salmond’s niece, Christina Hendry told the service the family would ‘never get over’ his death.
‘We will endeavour to continue his life’s work and the things left unfinished’, she said.
‘He instilled in us a strength and it is with that strength that we will continue. Continue his legacy and continue his ambition for the independence of our nation’.
She described him as a ‘political giant, a strong leader, a fearless campaigner’ and added that he was also a ‘dearly loved husband, brother and uncle’.
‘As his family, we always felt loved no matter how far away he was or the time that passed before we saw him next’, she said. ‘We always knew he was standing up for our country, and for that we were grateful.
‘Uncle Alex passing means a great loss for many. A loss of Scotland’s voice on the international stage. A loss of integrity in Scottish politics. And a great loss to Scotland’s independence movement.
‘The world will be a much quieter place without Uncle Alex, for Moira, for the wider family and for Scotland’.