Alex Salmond cause of death confirmed after health struggles revealed

by · Mail Online

Former First Minister Alex Salmond's cause of death has been confirmed as a heart attack shortly after pals opened up about the Scotsman's health.

The pro-independence and nationalist Alba Party, of which Mr Salmond was founder and leader, has now broken the news following a post-mortem examination.

Scotland's first minister from 2007 until 2014, the patriot died suddenly in North Macedonia, at lunch, on Saturday, aged 69.

He had made a speech at the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy Forum in the city of Ohrid before collapsing in the crowded room after suffering a heart attack.

The Scottish and UK governments are working together to repatriate the ex-SNP leader's body and the Alba Party said it expected an update on his return on Monday evening.

Former MSP Alex Salmond kicks off ALBA Lothian campaign with ALBA Lothian Candidates in Edinburgh
Scotland's First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party Alex Salmond arrives with his wife Moira Salmond to a Scottish Parliament election count in 2011
Members of the public left floral tributes to the former First Minister outside the Scottish Parliament

Tributes have poured in since his death at the weekend with First Minister John Swinney saying he 'inspired a generation' to believe in independence.

Confirmation of the cause of death comes shortly after pals opened up about Mr Salmond's 'health struggles', saying legal battles against the Scottish government took a huge toll.

Conservative MP David Davis, who was a close friend of the late politician, said the 'treatment of Alex Salmond' had 'put a huge pall over the last several years of this great man's life'.

This comes as Mr Salmond had been battling for years to ensure former colleagues were held accountable for the botched probe into sexual harassment complaints against him.

Mr Davis said he is campaigning for MSPs to be given parliamentary privilege so they can more effectively scrutinise and investigate the actions of the Scottish Government, including in relation to outstanding questions about the probe into Mr Salmond's conduct.

Speaking yesterday, he added: 'What I'm trying to do, in parallel to whatever Alex's estate choose to do, is to open up this whole issue, give those powers to the Scottish Parliament, the powers of privilege - that is protection against prosecution or lawsuit, the right to summon people to give information and provide witness - and I want to see a separation of the powers of State and judiciary, which is true in the rest of the UK but not in Scotland so the prosecutors are as it were part of the State, and I want to see a duty of candour on the Government.

Conservative MP David Davis, right, was a close friend of Mr Salmond
Alex Salmond's legal battle against the Scottish Government overshadowed the final years of his life, say friends

'Now, I had a debate on this just two or three months ago and, in essence, the new Labour Government have agreed to do it and it is a question of how I ensure this happens quickly really, so that we can get proper answers in what really happened in the treatment of Alex Salmond, which frankly put a huge pall over the last several years of this great man's life and, who knows, it might even have accelerated his death - I don't know, I can't comment on that.

'So I want to see this exposed, opened up so that the Scottish Government is forced to answer the questions it ought to answer on this matter.'

Mr Salmond lodged a petition at the Court of Session last November for malfeasance - the wrongful exercise of lawful authority - by Scottish Government civil servants during the investigation into harassment complaints

When he lodged the petition, he said that no single person had been 'held accountable' for the botched Scottish Government probe into the complaints, which was found to have been unlawful and tainted by apparent bias.

Alex Salmond can be seen smiling cheerfully in the center of what is believed to be his last photo alongside his Alba Party chair Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, who is wearing a tartan dress 

He was reportedly seeking £3 million in damages and loss of earnings from the case.

Mr MacAskill yesterday said he believed the case was 'likely' to be continued by Mr Salmond's family.

He told BBC Good Morning Scotland: 'It's a matter for the family to decide.

'My own position is that I will respect whatever the family decide, but I would certainly hope and I believe that they are likely to continue this, because that court case will expose, I believe, malfeasance amongst individuals and institutions that really has to be brought out to allow history to properly remember Alex Salmond.'

A picture from the event in North Macedonia over the weekend showed Mr Salmond smiling cheerfully in the centre of a crowd of dignitaries in what is believed to be his last photo, alongside his Alba Party chair Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, who is wearing a tartan dress.

Eye-witnesses said medical teams desperately tried to resuscitate Mr Salmond, but were unable to save him.