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Alex Salmond has died at the age of 69.

Love or loathe Mr Salmond – who was described as a “Marmite man” during his high-profile court case – few would dispute his skill and achievements as a politician.

Under the leadership of the keen golfer and horse racing fan, the SNP rose to power and became a titan party north of the border.

Some would argue if it were not for the political talent of Mr Salmond, there would have been no Scottish independence referendum at all in 2014.

Alex Salmond. File pic: AP
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Mr Salmond. File pic: AP

As the tributes flood in following his death, we take a look at the man who was once first minister of Scotland.

Mr Salmond was first elected to Westminster in 1987 as the SNP MP for Banff and Buchan – a position he retained until 2010.

In 1990, he successfully defeated Margaret Ewing in the SNP leadership contest and would go on to campaign for Scottish devolution in 1997.

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Mr Salmond’s speech after becoming SNP leader in 1990

Former SNP leader Alex Salmond gives the victory sign after speaking at the party conference in 1997. File pic: Reuters
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Mr Salmond after speaking at the SNP party conference in 1997. Pic: Reuters

In 1999, after the establishment of the Scottish Parliament as a result of devolution, he led his party through the first Scottish parliament election and became MSP for Banff and Buchan as well as leader of the opposition – with Labour in power.

From left: SNP Deputy Convenor John Swinney, Vice Convenor Nicola Sturgeon, Leader Alex Salmond and Chief Executive Mike Russell sit down outside the Holiday Inn hotel in Edinburgh after a press conference held the day after Scottish parliamentary elections.
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John Swinney, Nicola Sturgeon, Alex Salmond and Mike Russell in 1999. Pic: PA

A year later, Mr Salmond quit as SNP leader amid a series of high-profile fallouts with party members and was replaced by current first minister John Swinney.

In 2001, he then stood down from Holyrood in order to lead the SNP group at Westminster.

Following a disastrous 2004 European parliament election for the SNP, Mr Swinney stepped aside as party leader with Mr Salmond re-elected with overwhelming support from the party’s members.

Following a highly effective campaign in the 2007 Scottish election, the SNP gained 20 seats, giving the party a total of 47 seats in Holyrood – one more than Scottish Labour.

Alex Salmond and his wife Moira leave the Scottish Parliament chamber after the vote to elect him as First Minister in 2007. File pic: Reuters
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Mr Salmond and his wife Moira leaving the Scottish parliament chamber after he was elected as first minister in 2007. Pic: Reuters

Although the party didn’t have an overall majority, new Gordon MSP Mr Salmond became first minister of Scotland in 2007.

File photo dated 24/05/07 of Queen Elizabeth II meets Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond at Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh. The former Scotland first minister and current Alba Party leader has died aged 69. Issue date: Saturday October 12, 2024.
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The late Queen Elizabeth II and Mr Salmond at Holyroodhouse in 2007. Pic: PA

In the 2011 Scottish elections, the SNP secured the first outright majority in the history of the Scottish parliament, and Mr Salmond won a second term as first minister while MSP for the new constituency of Aberdeenshire East.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond and Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon hold copies of the White Paper after it was launched at the Science Centre in Glasgow. The Scottish Government has published its white paper on independence, outlining how it believes a Yes vote in next year's referendum could pave the way for a new era for the nation.
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Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon launching the White Paper in 2013. Pic: PA

In 2012, Mr Salmond signed an agreement with then British prime minister David Cameron to hold a referendum on Scottish independence in 2014.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond and Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon they launch a paper today at Alexander Denis coach manufacturers outlining the nations key economic strength as an independent country.
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Mr Salmond and Ms Sturgeon pictured in May 2013 while launching a paper on the economic case for independence. Pic: PA

First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond chats to school children at Strichen Primary School in Strichen, as polls have opened on a historic day for Scotland as voters determine whether the country should remain part of the United Kingdom.
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Then first minister Mr Salmond on polling day in 2014. Pic: PA

The historic event – which would have seen Scotland break away from the rest of the UK – took place on 18 September 2014 and saw more than two million people (55.3%) vote No and 1.6 million (44.7%) vote Yes.

Following the defeat, Mr Salmond stepped down as first minister and SNP leader and was replaced by Nicola Sturgeon.

In an interview with Sky News to mark the 10th anniversary of the independence referendum, Mr Salmond said he started to write his concession speech when the first result was declared.

First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond during a press conference at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh after Scotland rejected independence in the Scottish independence referendum.
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Mr Salmond following the Scottish independence referendum. Pic: PA

Mr Salmond returned to the Commons as MP for Gordon in the 2015 general election but was ousted in the 2017 election by Conservative Colin Clark.

The loss marked the first time since 1987 that Mr Salmond was not in an elected position at either Westminster or Holyrood.

Mr Salmond would go on to launch The Alex Salmond Show on RT, the former Russia Today channel editorially controlled and funded by the Russian government.

Mr Salmond was criticised by Scottish politicians over the decision to host it on RT, with Ms Sturgeon saying she would have advised against it.

a party leader Alex Salmond and Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (left) during a ALBA Special National Assembly meeting of over 300 independence activists at the Charteris Centre in Edinburgh. He said the case for breaking the impasse on independence by forcing a Holyrood election this year to act as a 'defacto referendum' on independence this year rather than waiting for a Westminster election next year. Picture date: Saturday January 14, 2023.
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Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh with Mr Salmond last year. Pic: PA

The show, which also featured Mr Salmond’s protege Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, was suspended following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Not to be stopped, a new show titled Scotland Speaks with Alex Salmond launched a year later via Turkish public broadcaster TRT. The first episode featured an interview with Hollywood actor Brian Cox.

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Sky News’ Scotland correspondent Connor Gillies speaks about Mr Salmond’s career

Before that, however, Mr Salmond resigned from the SNP in August 2018 in the face of allegations of sexual misconduct while first minister.

Mr Salmond said he wanted to avoid internal division within the party amid calls to suspend him.

Denying any wrongdoing, Mr Salmond vowed to re-join the SNP once he had an opportunity to clear his name.

Mr Salmond went on to take the Scottish government to court to challenge the complaints procedure which had been activated against him.

The investigation was deemed by a judicial review to have been “tainted by apparent bias”, with Mr Salmond awarded £512,000 as a result.

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In January 2019, Mr Salmond was arrested by Police Scotland and charged with 14 offences, including two counts of attempted rape, nine sexual assaults, two indecent assaults, and one breach of the peace.

In March 2020, Mr Salmond was cleared of all charges. A jury found him not guilty of 12 charges, one charge was dropped by prosecutors during the trial, while another charge was found not proven.

File photo dated 18/02/20 of Alex Salmond arriving at the High Court in Glasgow for a preliminary hearing in his attempted rape case. The former Scotland first minister and current Alba Party leader has died aged 69. Issue date: Saturday October 12, 2024.
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Mr Salmond arriving at the High Court in Glasgow in 2020. Pic: PA

During a procedural hearing of the case, reporting of which was banned until the end of the trial, Mr Salmond’s defence team claimed the Scottish government and those working there turned to the criminal process to try to “discredit” him after he won the civil case into how the administration handled sexual harassment complaints against him.

Details heard during the trial were devastating to Mr Salmond’s public image, with allegations of bullying and demanding behaviour.

Defence advocate Gordon Jackson KC put it to the court that Mr Salmond was a “touchy-feely kind of person”.

Jurors heard details of inappropriate behaviour, including Mr Salmond admitting that he had a “sleepy cuddle” with one complainer and sexual contact with two complainers, neither of them his wife, Moira.

In his closing speech, Mr Jackson described his client as a “Marmite man” as well as someone who “could have been a better man”.

Two subsequent inquiries into the conduct of ministers and officials saw Mr Salmond asserting his belief that many in his former party had colluded against him in an effort to block any final return to frontline politics.

After being cleared, Mr Salmond vowed that evidence of a plot to discredit him would “see the light of day”.

M.S.P's Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party Leadership contenders) enjoy a special campaign curry made up of a cavier based starter called" Sturgeon and Spicy Dip" (for Nicola Sturgeon) and a salmon based main course called" Imli Salmon Blast" (for Alex Salmond) at the Raj Restaurant in Edinburgh.
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Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond during happier times in their friendship. Pic: PA

While once great friends, the sexual harassment allegations and subsequent court case led to the breakdown of Mr Salmond and Ms Sturgeon’s relationship.

Mr Salmond did not return to the SNP and instead launched rival Alba Party in 2021.

File photo dated 13/04/21 of Alex Salmond during a photo call at Stirling Castle to mark the start of the party's Mid Scotland and Fife campaign, ahead of the Scottish Parliamentary election. The former Scotland first minister and current Alba Party leader has died aged 69. Issue date: Saturday October 12, 2024.
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Mr Salmond was leader of the Alba Party. Pic: PA

He has often been critical of his successors, Ms Sturgeon, Humza Yousaf and Mr Swinney.

When Ms Sturgeon quit as first minister in 2023, Mr Salmond told Sky News that the SNP had “no obvious successor”.

File photo dated 20/10/2011 of SNP Leader Alex Salmond and Deputy Leader Nicola Sturgeon on their way to the 77th Scottish National Party annual conference being held at the Eden Court Theatre in Inverness. Sturgeon is expected to resign as Scottish First Minister, according to the BBC. Issue date: Wednesday February 15, 2023.
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Mr Salmond and Ms Sturgeon in 2011. Pic: PA

While speaking during an Edinburgh Fringe event later that year, Mr Salmond refused to rule out a reconciliation with Ms Sturgeon and said it would be “sad” if they remained on poor terms.

Despite not achieving his dream, Mr Salmond never wavered in his belief that Scotland would be better as an independent country.

In one of his final interviews with Sky News, he said: “I don’t say that Scotland would be a land of milk and honey, but we would be a land of oil, gas and renewables and that would stand us in good stead.”

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Labour and Reform in battle for Runcorn by-election seat – but disillusionment could be eventual winner

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Labour and Reform in battle for Runcorn by-election seat - but disillusionment could be eventual winner

On the banks of the Mersey, Runcorn and Helsby is a more complicated political picture than the apparent Labour heartland that first presents itself.

Yes, there are industrial and manufacturing areas – an old town that’s fallen victim to out-of-town shopping, and an out-of-town shopping centre that’s fallen victim to Amazon.

But there are also more middle-class new town developments, as well as Tory-facing rural swathes.

Space Café director Marie Moss says a sense of community has faded
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Space Cafe director Marie Moss says a sense of community has faded

One thing this area does mirror with many across the country, though, is a fed-up electorate with little confidence that politics can work for them.

In the Space Cafe in Runcorn Old Town, its director Marie Moss says many in the region remember a time when a sense of community was more acute.

“People were very proud of their town… and that’s why people get upset and emotional as they remember that,” she says.

It’s this feeling of disenfranchisement and nostalgia-tinged yearning for the past that Reform UK is trading off in its targeting of traditional Labour voters here.

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Party leader Nigel Farage features heavily on leaflets in these parts, alongside spikey messaging around migration, law and order, and Labour’s record in government so far.

Runcorn 2024 result
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Runcorn 2024 result

Taxi driver Mike Holland hears frequent worries about that record from those riding in the back of his cab.

A Labour voter for decades, he says locals were “made up” at last year’s election result but have been “astonished” since then, with benefit changes a common topic of concern.

“Getting a taxi is two things, it’s either a luxury or a necessity… the necessity people are the disabled people… and a lot of the old dears are so stressed and worried about their disability allowance and whether they are going to get it or not get it,” he says.

But will that mean straight switchers to Reform UK?

Taxi driver Mike Holland has voted for Labour for decades, but is looking at the Liberal Democrats and Greens, or may not vote
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Taxi driver Mike Holland has voted for Labour for decades, but is now looking at the Lib Dems and Greens – or may not vote at all

Mike says he agrees with some of what the party is offering but thinks a lot of people are put off by Mr Farage.

He’s now looking at the Liberal Democrats and Greens, both of whom have put up local politicians as candidates.

Or, Mike says, he may just not vote at all.

It’s in places like Runcorn town that some of the political contradictions within Reform UK reveal themselves more clearly.

Many here say they were brought up being told to never vote Tory.

And yet, Reform, chasing their support, has chosen a former Conservative councillor as its candidate.

It’s no surprise Labour has been trialling attack lines in this campaign, painting Mr Farage’s party as “failed Tories”.

As a response to this, look no further than Reform’s recent nod to the left on industrialisation and public ownership.

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈

Read more:
Tough test for Labour after MP quits
MP jailed for late-night brawl
Local elections could re-shape politics

But head 15 minutes south from Runcorn docks, and this by-election campaign changes.

Rural areas like Frodsham and Helsby have, in the past, tended towards the Tories.

The Conservatives, of course, have a candidate in this vote, one who stood in a neighbouring constituency last year.

But Reform is now making a hard play for their supporters in these parts, with a softer message compared to the one being put out in urban areas – an attempt to reassure those anxious about too much political revolution coming to their privet-lined streets.

Labour, meanwhile, is actively trying to mobilise the anti-Farage vote by presenting their candidate – another local councillor – as the only person who can stop Reform.

Nadine Tan is concerned about division and anger in the community
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Makeup artist Nadine Tan is concerned about division and anger in the community

The pitch here is aimed at voters like Frodsham makeup artist Nadine Tan, who are worried about division and anger in the community.

“I think they need to kind of come together and stop trying to divide everyone,” she says.

But like Mike the taxi driver five miles north, disillusionment could be the eventual winner as Nadine says, despite the “thousands of leaflets” through her door, she still thinks “they all say the same thing”.

One factor that doesn’t seem to be swinging too many votes, though, is the insalubrious circumstances in which the area’s former Labour MP left office.

Suspended Labour MP Mike Amesbury walks outside Chester Magistrates Court.
Pic: Reuters
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Labour MP Mike Amesbury was convicted of punching a man in the street. Pic: Reuters

Mike Amesbury stepped down after being convicted of repeatedly punching a constituent in a late-night brawl outside a pub.

But across the patch, many praise their ex-MP’s local efforts, while also saying he was “very silly” to have acted in the way he did.

That may be putting it mildly.

But it’s hard to find much more agreement ahead of Thursday’s vote.

A constituency still hungry for change, but unsure as to who can deliver it.

Full list of candidates, Runcorn and Helsby by-election:

Catherine Anne Blaiklock – English Democrats
Dan Clarke – Liberal Party
Chris Copeman – Green Party
Paul Duffy – Liberal Democrats
Peter Ford – Workers Party
Howling Laud Hope – Monster Raving Loony Party
Sean Houlston – Conservatives
Jason Philip Hughes – Volt UK
Alan McKie – Independent
Graham Harry Moore – English Constitution Party
Paul Andrew Murphy – Social Democratic Party
Sarah Pochin – Reform UK
Karen Shore – Labour
John Stevens – Rejoin EU
Michael Williams – Independent

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Solana’s Loopscale pauses lending after $5.8M hack

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<div>Solana's Loopscale pauses lending after .8M hack</div>

<div>Solana's Loopscale pauses lending after .8M hack</div>

Solana decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Loopscale has temporarily halted its lending markets after suffering an approximately $5.8 million exploit. 

On April 26, a hacker siphoned approximately 5.7 million USDC (USDC) and 1200 Solana (SOL) from the lending protocol after taking out a “series of undercollateralized loans”, Loopscale co-founder Mary Gooneratne said in an X post. 

The exploit only impacted Loopscale’s USDC and SOL vaults and the losses represent around 12% of Loopscale’s total value locked (TVL), Gooneratne added. 

Loopscale is “working to resume repayment functionality as soon as possible to mitigate unforeseen liquidations,” its said in an X post. 

“Our team is fully mobilized to investigate, recover funds, and ensure users are protected,” Gooneratne said.

Solana's Loopscale pauses lending after $5.8M hack
Loopscale’s ‘Genesis’ lending vaults. Source: Loopscale

In the first quarter of 2025, hackers stole more than $1.6 billion worth of crypto from exchanges and on-chain smart contracts, blockchain security firm PeckShield said in an April report. 

More than 90% of those losses are attributable to a $1.5 billion attack on ByBit, a centralized cryptocurrency exchange, by North Korean hacking outfit Lazarus Group.

Related: Crypto hacks top $1.6B in Q1 2025 — PeckShield

Unique DeFi lending model

Launched on April 10 after a six-month closed beta, Loopscale is a DeFi lending protocol designed to enhance capital efficiency by directly matching lenders and borrowers.

It also supports specialized lending markets, such as “structured credit, receivables financing, and undercollateralized lending,” Loopscale said in an April announcement shared with Cointelegraph. 

Loopscale’s order book model distinguishes it from DeFi lending peers such as Aave that aggregate cryptocurrency deposits into liquidity pools.

Solana's Loopscale pauses lending after $5.8M hack
Loopscale’s daily active users. Source: Mary Gooneratne

Loopscale’s main USDC and SOL vaults yield APRs exceeding 5% and 10%, respectively. It also supports lending markets for tokens such as JitoSOL and BONK (BONK) and looping strategies for upwards of 40 different token pairs. 

The DeFi protocol has approximately $40 million in TVL and has attracted upwards of 7,000 lenders, according to researcher OurNetwork.

Magazine: Ripple says SEC lawsuit ‘over,’ Trump at DAS, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 16 – 22

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US Senator calls for Trump impeachment, cites memecoin dinner

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US Senator calls for Trump impeachment, cites memecoin dinner

US Senator calls for Trump impeachment, cites memecoin dinner

United States Senator Jon Ossoff expressed support for impeaching President Donald Trump during an April 25 town hall, citing the President’s plan to host a private dinner for top Official Trump memecoin holders. 

“I mean, I saw just 48 hours ago, he is granting audiences to people who buy his meme coin,” said Ossoff, a Democrat, according to a report by NBC News. 

“When the sitting president of the United States is selling access for what are effectively payments directly to him. There is no question that that rises to the level of an impeachable offense.”

Senator Ossoff said he “strongly” supports impeachment proceedings during a town hall in the state of Georgia, where he is running for reelection to the Senate.

The Senator added that an impeachment is unlikely unless the Democratic Party gains control of Congress during the US midterm elections in 2026. Trump’s own Republican Party currently has a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. 

US Senator calls for Trump impeachment, cites memecoin dinner
TRUMP holders can register to dine with the US President. Source: gettrumpmemes.com

Related: US lawmaker says TRUMP coin could risk national security

Conflicts of interest

On April 23, the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin’s website announced plans for Trump to host an exclusive dinner at his Washington, DC golf club with the top 220 TRUMP holders. 

The website subsequently posted a leaderboard tracking top TRUMP wallets and a link to register for the event. The TRUMP token’s price has gained more than 50% since the announcement, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

The specific guest list is unclear, but the memecoin’s website states that applicants must pass a background check, “can not be from a [Know Your Customer] watchlist country,” and cannot bring any additional guests.

On April 25, the team behind TRUMP denied social media rumors that TRUMP holders need at least $300,000 to participate in an upcoming dinner with the president.

“People have been incorrectly quoting #220 on the block explorer as the cutoff. That’s wrong because it includes things like locked tokens, exchanges, market makers, and those who are not participating. Instead, you should only be going off the leaderboard,” they wrote.

Law, Politics, Senate, Donald Trump, trumpcoin, Memecoin
The TRUMP token jumped on news of the private dinner plans. Source: CoinMarketCap

Legal experts told Cointelegraph that Trump’s cryptocurrency ventures, including the TRUMP memecoin and Trump-affiliated decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol World Liberty Financial, raise significant concerns about potential conflicts of interest

“Within just a couple of days of him taking office, he’s signed a number of executive orders that are significantly going to affect the way that our crypto and digital assets industry works,” Charlyn Ho of law firm Rikka told Cointelegraph in February. 

“So if he has a personal pecuniary benefit arising from his own policies, that’s a conflict of interest.”

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

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