Alex Salmond’s body to be returned to Scotland – with private individual paying for flight after request to use RAF rejected

Published

4 hours ago

October 16, 2024

admin

A private individual is paying for a flight to repatriate Alex Salmond’s body after the Foreign Office rejected requests for the RAF to get involved.

The former first minister and SNP leader collapsed and died after delivering a speech on Scottish independence in North Macedonia on Saturday.

The UK and Scottish governments had been in talks about the return of Mr Salmond’s body.

David Davis, Conservative MP and close friend of Mr Salmond, had led calls for the armed forces to get involved.

A private aircraft is now being chartered, which is being paid for by a private citizen. The flight is expected to land in Aberdeen.

Officials are arranging the final logistics on Wednesday afternoon.

Kenny MacAskill, acting leader of the Alba Party, said Mr Salmond’s widow and family were “incredibly grateful” for the support.

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.”

Mr MacAskill also expressed the Salmond family’s appreciation to the North Macedonian government, for “expediting” the process of releasing Mr Salmond’s body and the Scottish and UK governments for their work in securing his repatriation.

There had been lengthy discussions between Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes and the UK government’s Europe minister.

There had been concerns about breaking the precedent of the RAF only repatriating the bodies of members of the Royal Family.

Witnesses say Mr Salmond, a nationalist stalwart, fell into the arms of a colleague at a lunch following the Cultural Diplomacy summit in Ohrid on Saturday afternoon.

The 69-year-old’s family confirmed the cause of death was a heart attack in a statement issued on Monday evening.

The King led tributes to Mr Salmond, who led Scotland to the brink of independence in the historic 2014 referendum.

In a message issued by Buckingham Palace, the King said he and the Queen were “greatly saddened” to hear of Mr Salmond’s “sudden death”.

A book of condolence has opened at the Scottish parliament for visitors to leave messages that will be sent to Mr Salmond’s family.

Mr Salmond served as first minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014 and was leader of the SNP on two occasions, from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014.

He launched his rival Scottish independence party, Alba, in 2021 after his relationship with his successor Nicola Sturgeon fractured.

The pair never spoke again.

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “The loss of a loved one is a difficult time for any family, made more complex when they have passed away overseas.

“Over the last few days the Scottish government and UK government have been engaging with Alex Salmond’s family and working closely together in accordance with their wishes, to ensure the swift and dignified repatriation of the former first minister to Scotland.

“Having explored a number of options, the family have now made arrangements for this to take place with the support of a private citizen.

“The Scottish government continues to engage with Mr Salmond’s family, and we stand ready to offer further advice and support, should it be required.”

Politics

Cabinet ministers write to Starmer in urgent attempt to soften spending cuts in budget

Published

1 hour ago

October 16, 2024

admin

Cabinet ministers write to Starmer in urgent attempt to soften spending cuts in budget

Cabinet ministers are writing to the prime minister in an urgent attempt to soften some of the spending cuts being demanded ahead of the budget.

The main measures for the budget have to be decided by the end of Wednesday and sent to the Office for Budget Responsibility before the Treasury shuts up for the evening.

Sky News can confirm letters from cabinet ministers complaining about the budget have gone over the head of Chancellor Rachel Reeves to Sir Keir Starmer and Number 10.

Politics latest: Cabinet members deeply concerned over scale of cuts

Some of these letters are believed to have gone in over the last couple of days.

After today, only small changes can ordinarily be made to the budget, typically around involving items of tens or hundreds of millions rather than billions. The existence of the letters was first reported by Bloomberg.

Some cabinet ministers are deeply concerned about the scale of the cuts being demanded in some areas to fund pay rises and spending increases elsewhere.

It is understood that Number 10 has received complaints from four government departments: the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Department for Transport, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Justice.

Not all of these complaints were made through the medium of a letter.

It is understood the call for an intervention by Number 10 has helped soften a small portion of the cuts for some cabinet ministers’ departments.

But largely the shape of the budget, which is for the most part wrapped up tonight, has remained unchanged – and so have the nerves about how it will land in two weeks.

At the weekend, Sky News revealed one cabinet minister said: “The briefing doesn’t match the reality. It’s pain this year, and pain next year. We’re simply going to be digging a hole which we end up filling in later in the year.”

Ms Reeves will loosen the borrowing rules in the budget in order to give herself more room for spending, along with raising up to £40bn in tax rises and welfare cuts in order to relieve pressure on budgets.

But the cost of significant public sector pay rises, which are still going to have to be found from within departmental budgets, mean cuts this year and next are still being demanded by the Treasury.

Some ministers believe the cuts are unsustainable, while some have pointed to the first round of spending reductions announced before the summer – including the winter fuel allowance changes – as evidence more input from Number 10 is needed ahead of the budget and spending review on 30 October.

One government source told Sky News: “The whole of Number 10 is focused on the budget at the moment and there isn’t much bandwidth for anything else.”

👉 Tap here to follow Politics at Jack and Sam’s wherever you get your podcasts 👈

Government figures insist that letters voicing concern are routinely sent at this point in a spending review process and that this is all normal.

Both Sir Keir and Ms Reeves are out of the country next week, the week before the budget. However, only smaller changes can typically be made after today to the shape of it.