Flags at half mast and floral tributes at Scottish Parliament following Alex Salmond's death

Tributes have continued to flow to the former first minister

Tributes have appeared at the Scottish Parliament where flags have been lowered to half-mast following the death of former first minister Alex Salmond.

One tribute left at the Holyrood entrance simply said “thank you Big Eck, from Scotland”.

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Scottish First Minister John Swinney today described Mr Salmond as a “hugely important and significant and influential figure in Scottish and United Kingdom politics”.

The flags outside the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, Edinburgh, fly at half mast following the death of Alex Salmond.The flags outside the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, Edinburgh, fly at half mast following the death of Alex Salmond.
The flags outside the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, Edinburgh, fly at half mast following the death of Alex Salmond.

Speaking on the Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme, the Scottish First Minister said: “He changed our politics and made the whole concept and the possibility of independence a real prospect for so many individuals within Scotland, and got us so close to the achievement of independence of 2014.”

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He also credited his predecessor with taking the Scottish National Party “from the fringes of Scottish politics to becoming the government of Scotland”.

When asked what made Mr Salmond so effective as a politician, the First Minister said: “I think there were two elements. First was a sense of absolute determination to succeed in his politics. So there was a bringing people together to make sure that we were successful in our politics. So there was real drive and energy right at the heart of it.

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Floral tribute left outside the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, Edinburgh, following the death of Alex Salmond.Floral tribute left outside the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, Edinburgh, following the death of Alex Salmond.
Floral tribute left outside the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, Edinburgh, following the death of Alex Salmond.

“The second thing was I think his sense of strategic perspective was important in identifying how you went from one situation to another, and how you built up through those strategic decisions the case for Scottish independence, or the case for effective government within Scotland, which is what we have delivered and demonstrated.

“So it was that combination of real drive and strategic thinking, which was at the heart of the success that Alex Salmond delivered.”

Actor Brian Cox has said former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond was “one of the greatest political thinkers” the British Isles has ever produced.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, he said: “He was a lot of fun.

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The flags outside the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, Edinburgh, fly at half mast following the death of Alex Salmond.The flags outside the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, Edinburgh, fly at half mast following the death of Alex Salmond.
The flags outside the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, Edinburgh, fly at half mast following the death of Alex Salmond.

“He was very entertaining. He had great humanity, he was probably I think one of the greatest political thinkers, certainly Scotland has ever produced, and I think possibly these islands have ever produced.

“He was an extraordinary man. I think his essential appeal was his humanity and how he came across to other people.”

He said when he first met Mr Salmond he was a disillusioned Labour supporter.

“I felt the one place where social democracy was happening was back in my own country, so I suddenly had to rethink my own feelings and Alex enabled me to do that,” he said.

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