Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond dies aged 69
Alex Salmond served as First Minister from 2007 to 2014, overseeing Scotland’s historic independence referendum. His political career, spanning over 30 years, ended amid controversy following sexual assault allegations, though he was cleared of all charges in 2020. Salmond's final political chapter saw him launch the Alba Party, though it failed to gain serious traction. Report by Caponm. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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00:00Alex Salmond, the former First Minister of Scotland and a prominent campaigner for Scottish
00:05independence has died at the age of 69.
00:08It was during his time as a student at St Andrews that his political identity began
00:13to take shape, joining the SNP almost immediately after arriving in 1973.
00:20Despite a brief suspension from the SNP in 1982, he was elected to Parliament in 1987
00:26as one of only three Scottish National Party MPs at Westminster at the time.
00:32Following his election as leader of the party in 1990, Salmond transformed the Scottish
00:37National Party from being seen as a fringe group within Westminster to becoming a significant
00:42voice in UK politics.
00:44His sharp wit and charismatic demeanour helped establish his reputation as an effective political
00:50communicator on the front line of UK politics.
00:55In 1997, Salmond and the SNP joined with Tony Blair's government to campaign for devolution,
01:01which he saw as the crucial first step towards Scottish independence.
01:07The formation of the Scottish Parliament two years later gave Salmond the launchpad to
01:11reshape Scottish politics forever.
01:14His time in Holyrood was rarely without incident.
01:18After his unexpected resignation in 2000, he made a return four years later in 2004.
01:25In 2007, the SNP became the largest party in the Scottish Parliament, albeit by just
01:31one seat, leading to the formation of a minority government with Salmond as First Minister
01:37and his long-term ally Nicola Sturgeon as his deputy.
01:42The SNP's landmark victory in the 2011 election, where they secured a majority, paved the way
01:48for Salmond to begin talks with Prime Minister David Cameron on a referendum for Scottish
01:53independence.
01:54However, the outcome of the 2014 referendum proved to be a pivotal moment in Salmond's
02:00political career.
02:02Despite securing an unprecedented 45% share of the vote, Salmond resigned as SNP leader
02:09the following day.
02:11He returned to Westminster in 2015, but his time back in front-line politics was brief,
02:17losing his seat in 2017 and bringing an end to a political career that spanned over 30 years.
02:24Allegations of sexual assault surfaced in 2018, leading Salmond to resign from the SNP
02:30after 45 years of membership.
02:33Despite being cleared of all 14 charges in 2020, his relationships with senior figures
02:39within the SNP, including Nicola Sturgeon and her husband, SNP Chief Executive Peter
02:45Murrell, were severely strained.
02:49Salmond later won a significant payout of £500,000 after successfully taking the Scottish
02:54government to court over their handling of the allegations.
02:58His decision to host a chat show on Russia Today, the Russian state-controlled broadcaster,
03:03left a sour taste for many of his supporters.
03:07His return to Scottish politics with the newly formed ALBA party in 2021, 34 years after
03:13first being elected to Westminster, failed to disrupt the political status quo at Holyrood.