Alex Salmond dead: Nicola Sturgeon pays tribute to former SNP mentor after his sudden death aged 69

NICOLA Sturgeon has paid tribute to her erstwhile adjacent state Alex Salmond aft her predecessor arsenic First Minister died connected Saturday.

Ms Sturgeon, who was lawman First Minister to Mr Salmond between 2007 and 2014, said she was "shocked and saddened".

On X, formerly known arsenic Twitter, she wrote: "Obviously, I cannot unreal that the events of the past fewer years which led to the breakdown of our narration did not happen, and it would not beryllium close for maine to try.

"However, it remains the information that for galore years Alex was an incredibly important fig successful my life. He was my mentor, and for much than a decennary we formed 1 of the astir palmy partnerships successful UK politics.

"Alex modernised the SNP and led america into authorities for the archetypal time, becoming Scotland’s 4th First Minister and paving the mode for the 2014 referendum which took Scotland to the brink of independence.

"He volition beryllium remembered for each of that. My thoughts are with Moira, his wider household and his friends.”

The brace were adjacent governmental allies for respective decades but had a large falling retired aft allegations of intersexual harassment were made against Mr Salmond successful 2018.

In a two-part BBC documentary released conscionable past month, Mr Salmond said helium “seriously” doubted whether helium would ever beryllium connected speaking presumption again with Ms Sturgeon.

He told the broadcaster “A large regret that Nicola and I are nary longer connected speaking terms, and I earnestly uncertainty if that’s going to improve.

“Now, that’s a large pity due to the fact that I did bespeak that you shouldn’t accidental anything’s for ever, but that’s the mode it looks and that’s conscionable the mode it’s going to be.”

Also discussing their narration successful the documentary, Ms Sturgeon said: “One of the hardest things astir the breakdown betwixt maine and Alex is the information that truthful galore of the champion moments of my life, helium is truthful integral to, and it’s hard present to look backmost connected them with conscionable unallowed pleasance and joy.”

Speaking astir their fractured narration during an Edinburgh Festival Fringe lawsuit successful 2023, Ms Sturgeon appeared to regularisation retired immoderate imaginable of reconciliation.

She told Iain Dale astatine the event: “I was precise adjacent to Alex for a long, agelong time. We achieved large things unneurotic and I’ll ever beryllium arrogant of that.

“I’m not trying to rewrite past present but implicit caller years helium has revealed himself to beryllium idiosyncratic that I don’t privation to person successful my life, I don’t peculiarly privation to person a narration with.

“We don’t person agelong connected this planet, we’ve got a constricted magnitude of clip to walk with people. I privation to walk the clip I person with radical who marque maine blessed and who I like.”