Former first minister of Scotland Alex Salmond has died aged 69.
Mr Salmond, who led the Scottish National Party between 1990 and 2000 and then again between 2004 and 2014, was a prominent figure in the country’s nationalist movement.
The second time around he used his mandate as first minister to hold a referendum on Scottish independence in 2014.
The “Yes Scotland” campaign was defeated and he resigned as a result.
At the time of his death, he had been the leader of the nationalist Alba Party since 2021.
Reports in Scotland suggest he collapsed after giving a speech in North Macedonia this morning.
A Facebook post from the page of Gjorge Ivanov, former President of the Republic of Macedonia, showed Mr Salmond at the Ohrid Cultural Diplomacy Forum, held in Ohrid, North Macedonia.
More on Alex Salmond
Related Topics:
‘A titan of the independence movement’
Mr Salmond’s former party, the SNP, said in a statement on X that his “leadership brought the SNP into the mainstream and the Scottish Government. He was a titan of the independence movement.”
Advertisement
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Mr Salmond “leaves behind a lasting legacy” and was “a monumental figure of Scottish and UK politics”.
“As First Minister of Scotland he cared deeply about Scotland’s heritage, history and culture, as well as the communities he represented as MP and MSP over many years of service,” said the PM.
Salmond ‘fought fearlessly for the country that he loved’
First Minister of Scotland John Swinney said: “I am deeply shocked and saddened at the untimely death of the former First Minister Alex Salmond, and I extend my deepest condolences to Alex’s wife Moira and to his family.
“Over many years, Alex made an enormous contribution to political life – not just within Scotland, but across the UK and beyond.
“Alex worked tirelessly and fought fearlessly for the country that he loved and for her independence. He took the Scottish National Party from the fringes of Scottish politics into Government and led Scotland so close to becoming an independent country.
“There will be much more opportunity to reflect in the coming days, but today all of our thoughts are with Alex’s family and his many friends right across the political spectrum.”
Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also paid tribute, writing on X: “Alex Salmond was a huge figure in our politics. While I disagreed with him on the constitutional question, there was no denying his skill in debate or his passion for politics. May he rest in peace.”
Anas Sarwar, the leader of Scottish Labour, wrote in a statement: “Alex was a central figure in politics for over three decades and his contribution to the Scottish political landscape can not be overstated.
“It is right that we recognise Alex’s service to our country as First Minister and to the communities he represented as both MP and MSP.”
‘We disagreed on almost everything’
“We disagreed on almost everything, but I always respected his intellect and political nous,” wrote former leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson on X, and sent her “sincere sympathies” to his wife and family.
Douglas Ross, another former leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said Mr Salmond had a “huge impact” on the whole of Scotland.
He added: “While we had opposing political views, he was a towering figure in Scottish politics which he dominated for many years.
“My thoughts are with Moira and his family and friends at this difficult time.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
Footage of the moment 10-year-old Sara Sharif’s alleged killers were detained after police boarded their plane back to the UK has been played in court.
As they are approached by officers, Sara‘sstepmother Beinash Batool is heard saying: “I think you’re looking for us.”
Batool, 30, Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 42, and uncle Faisal Malik, 29, are accused of carrying out a campaign of abuse against her culminating in her death at her family home in Surreyon 8 August last year.
The defendants, along with five of Sara’s siblings, aged between one and 13, flew to Pakistanthe following day.
Sara’s body was found by police in a bunkbed on 10 August after Sharif called police from Pakistan to say he had beaten her “too much” for being “naughty”.
A murder investigation was launched involving agencies including Interpol and the National Crime Agency to locate the defendants.
More on Sara Sharif
Related Topics:
They returned to the UK on a flight from Dubai to Gatwick Airport on 13 September.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:38
‘I beat her up too much’
The clips of officers’ body-worn video shown to the jury on Friday captured the moment police boarded the plane and detained the defendants at 7.42pm, seven minutes after touchdown.
After Batool addresses the officers, Sharif, who had been sitting next to her, is asked to follow them.
The three were then taken off the plane and arrested.
A post-mortem examination established Sara had sustained extensive and significant injuries over a sustained period prior to her death.
The jury heard on Friday how concerns were raised by Sara’s school about bruising on her body in June 2022 and March 2023.
Several items seized from Sara’s home were also reviewed by the court, including a leather belt which had full DNA samples at both ends for Sara, Sharif, and Malik.
A cricket bat was also found to have Sara’s DNA profile on it, along with the DNA samples of Sharif and Malik.
Neither item had a DNA trace of Batool.
The court also reviewed the defendants’ bank accounts – both joint and separate.
All three defendants have pleaded not guilty to murder and causing or allowing the death of a child.
Six teenagers have been arrested after a 13-year-old girl was found with multiple stab wounds on a roadside near Hull.
Police said she was found around 6.50am on the A63 in Hessle with “life-threatening injuries” including “lacerations to her neck, abdomen, chest and back”.
Four boys and two girls – aged between 14 and 17 – were quickly arrested in a nearby wooded area and are being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder.
Members of the public came to the girl’s aid before emergency services arrived, Humberside Police said.
Detective Superintendent Simon Vickers said they “believe the attackers knew the victim” and the circumstances are still being investigated.
“The girl remains in hospital in critical condition and her family are being supported by officers at this difficult time,” he added.
The boys arrested are aged 14, 15, 16 and 17, and the girls 14 and 15.
Cordons are in place around a wooded area off Ferriby High Road while investigations continue.
Police said they would have an increased presence in the area over the weekend and have asked anyone with information or video to get in touch, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously.
A former soldier has told a jury his escape from Wandsworth prison to avoid being held with sex offenders and terrorists showed his “skillset”.
Daniel Khalife, 23, who was being held accused of passing secrets to Iran said he was “never a real spy” but planned a fake defection to the state following his arrest after watching American television show Homeland.
He said he wanted to be moved to a high-security unit because he was getting unwanted attention from the sex offenders on the vulnerable prisoners wing and feared a move to Belmarsh prison because, as a British soldier, terrorists wanted to kill him.
Khalife said he first wanted to “make a show” of escaping, acting suspiciously and covering himself in soot from a food delivery lorry on 21 August last year, while he was working in the prison kitchen.
He was spotted and reported to security but was “pretty shocked” when nothing happened so decided to take the “full measure,” he told the jury.
Talking about his escape for the first time at his Woolwich Crown Court trial, Khalife told how he fashioned a makeshift sling from kitchen trousers and carabiners used by inmates to keep their possessions safe from rats.
He attached it to the Bidfood lorry on 1 September last year, to see if it would be spotted by officers at Wandsworth or other prisons on the delivery route.
“I put the two carabiners and the makeshift rope underneath the lorry,” he said.
“When I had made the decision to actually leave the prison I was going to do it properly so I tested the security not just in Wandsworth
Advertisement
“Strangely, over the coming days, I could see it but it wasn’t spotted in Wandsworth or any other prison.”
Then on the morning of 6 September, Khalife said he concealed himself underneath the lorry, resting his back on the sling as the lorry was searched.
“They did normal checks around with torches but they didn’t find me. After that, a governor came to the tunnel and said, ‘Have you searched the vehicle?’
“I was facing upwards. There was action around the lorry.”
He said that when the vehicle stopped he “came out underneath the lorry and stayed in the prone position” until the lorry moved off.
Khalife, who joined the Army aged 16 and took up a post with the Royal Signals, based in Beacons barracks, Staffordshire, said he made no attempt to leave the country and had no intention to “run away” from the charges he was facing.
He was arrested three days later on the footpath of the Grand Union Canal in Northolt, west London, after a nationwide manhunt.
Asked why he had not handed himself in after his escape, Khalife said: “I was finally demonstrating what a foolish idea it was to have someone of my skillset in prison. What use was that to anyone?”
“I accept that I left the prison and didn’t have any permission to do so,” he said. “I accept absolutely that I shouldn’t have done what I did.”
Inspired by Homeland
The court has heard Khalife initiated contact with Iranian intelligence officers after he was told he could not pass developed vetting because his mother was born in Iran.
Khalife told MI5 he wanted to be a “double agent” and he said in court he thought he would be “congratulated” but described his arrest as like a “punch in the face”.
Wearing a blue checked shirt and chinos, he said police were “blinded at the prospect of a successful prosecution” but he did not think being in prison would be in “the public interest”.
“I didn’t do anything that harmed our national security. I wanted to put myself in a position where I could help my country,” he said.
“I believed I could continue my work actually located in the state – the state being Iran.”
Khalife said he took inspiration from watching Homeland, starring Claire Danes and Damian Lewis, in which Americans and terrorists go undercover, on Netflix.
“I had seen one of the characters in the programme had actually falsely defected to a particular country and utilised that position to further the national security interests of that character’s country,” he said.
“The country in question, Iran, thought it was real. She did it to further the interests of her own country.”
Khalife told jurors he is a “patriot”, adding: “I do love my country. All I wanted to do was help. I never wanted to do any harm, I never did do any harm.”
He added: “It is tragic it has come to this and I would do anything to go back to my career.”
Khalife, from Kingston, southwest London, denies a charge of committing an act prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state under the Official Secrets Act between 1 May 2019 and 6 January 2022.
He has also pleaded not guilty to a charge under the Terrorism Act of eliciting information about Armed Forces personnel on 2 August 2021, perpetrating a bomb hoax on or before 2 January 2023 and escaping from prison on 6 September last year.