Alex Salmond was the most accomplished and significant Scottish politician of modern times, says Andrew Neil

The former Sunday Times editor said that Mr Salmond and he disagreed on Scotland’s place in the Union but he regard the former Scottish National Party leader as the most significant politician in Scotland in modern times.

Mr Neil, who was until recently was chairman of The Spectator magazine, wrote his tribute on X, the social media platform formerly know as Twitter.

He said: “So sad to learn that Alex Salmond has died. I had lunch with him in London only three weeks ago — an epic lunch as it transpired, as was fitting with Alex — and he was in fine form. Full of plans and plots. He even paid! His upbeat mood then make this all the more surprising and sad.

"He and I could not have been more different in terms of Scotland’s position in the UK but we had a mutual respect and he knew I always regarded him as the most accomplished and significant Scottish politician of modern times. He was also the best of company.

"To be with him was always a joy. I will miss him hugely. So will Scotland. My condolences to his wonderful wife.”

Mr Salmond married Moira McGlashan in 1981, a senior civil servant 17 years his senior. They had no children.

Scottish First Minster John Swinney said Alex Salmond “left a fundamental footprint on Scottish politics” as he paid tribute to his late former party leader.

Mr Salmond, who led the SNP before later founding the Alba party, died at the age of 69 on Saturday afternoon from a suspected heart attack during a trip to North Macedonia.

The former first minister had made a speech at the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy Forum before collapsing at lunch in a crowded room.

Speaking on ‘Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg’, Mr Swinney (pictured) said that as well as leaving a footprint on Scottish politics, Mr Salmond “inspired a generation” to believe in independence.

Asked about his abiding memory of Mr Salmond, he said: “Obviously, I worked very closely with Alex Salmond, and I suspect the moment where I was most touched by what he did was when I was driving to Edinburgh on the day after the 2007 election, and I listened to him speaking on the radio when he arrived in Edinburgh, and he talked about Scotland had changed and changed forever and would never be the same again because of our election win in 2007.

“And it was a deeply emotional moment for me, because I heard my party leader at the time indicating that we’d taken a colossal step forward on our journey to independence.”

He was also asked about Mr Salmond’s break with the SNP, and the “bitterness” that arose between Mr Salmond and his protegee Nicola Sturgeon in the last few years.

The first minister replied: “Obviously, it’s been a very difficult few years, and there will be time to reflect on all of those issues in the days to come. But I think today, I think all of us can recognise the formidable contribution that Alex Salmond made.”

Mark Donfried, director of the Academy for Cultural Diplomacy, told the PA news agency said he witnessed Mr Salmond’s collapse at the conference.

“He was here the last few days, he gave excellent participation two days ago at the panel discussion,” he said.

“He was really in the best of spirits, the best of health, and I was sitting across from him at lunch yesterday when all of a sudden he just went out and fell into the arms of a colleague of mine on the other side of the table. I immediately got up and ran to call an ambulance and when I came back, he was on the floor.”