A private donor paid for a charter flight to repatriate Alex Salmond's body from North Macedonia, after the Foreign Office rejected calls for the RAF to organize the flight.
Salmond, Scotland's former first minister, died suddenly of a heart attack during lunch at a conference at a lakeside resort in Ohrid on Saturday and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Some of his allies, including Conservative MP David Davis, had been pushing for the RAF to fly his body home, which the Times said could have cost up to £600,000, or for the Scottish Government to fund a charter flight.
It is believed Salmond's family will hold a private funeral and a public memorial service will be held at a later date. John Swinney, the first minister, placed a book of condolence in the public reception area of the Scottish parliament on Monday.
Talks about repatriating his body involved Kate Forbes, Scotland's deputy first minister, and Ian Murray, Scotland secretary. The Scottish Government is understood to have helped facilitate the private flight, without paying for it directly.
A Scottish Government spokesman confirmed that private arrangements had been made to repatriate the body. It is believed Salmond's family believed it would be quicker to make their own arrangements than wait for government help.
“The loss of a loved one is a difficult time for any family, and it becomes more complex when they died abroad,” he said.
“Over the past few days, the Scottish Government and the UK Government have been engaging with Alex Salmond’s family, and working closely in line with their wishes, to ensure the former First Minister’s swift and dignified repatriation to Scotland.
“After exploring a number of options, the family has 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.”
Alba interim leader Kenny MacAskill told BBC Scotland that Salmond's widow, Moira, and her family were grateful to the donor who provided the flight.
“It is a great comfort to Moira and other family members to know that he will soon be home with them,” she said.
“The family has asked that their privacy be respected at this time and will make an announcement in due course regarding funeral arrangements and a memorial service to honor the life of Alex Salmond.”
Mark Donfried, director of the Academy of Cultural Diplomacy, which organized the event at which Salmond was speaking, said the Alba leader suddenly collapsed while helping his party colleague Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, who had accompanied him on the trip, to open some tomato sauce.
“He was full of energy and in the best of health, and we were talking about Scotland's place in Europe,” Donfried told Occasions Radio on Sunday. Salmond was trying to open the ketchup, he said, “when he just fell back in his chair, totally out of nowhere, without warning.”
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