Before Alex Salmond, Scottish Independence was an impossible dream, a romantic aspiration, outside the realm of practical politics. After Alex Salmond, it is the dominant question in Scottish politics and by far the biggest threat to the UK state.
I would argue that, with every poll for a decade showing overwhelming support for Independence among the under 30s and support for the UK only in a majority in the over 55s, Alex made Independence inevitable.
In Scotland’s national story, he deserves a place alongside William Wallace and Robert Bruce. (In my last conversation with Alex, about two weeks ago, he told me that new historical research made it pretty certain that Robert the Bruce was born in England. I told him that I knew that – in the family castle near Chelmsford, Essex, to be precise – and I had in fact published it about twenty years ago.)
I am really sad he has left us. It leaves a hero-sized hole in my consciousness. Very shortly after he retired as First Minister and Nicola Sturgeon replaced him, I said in reply to a comment on this blog that while I was not sure about Nicola, I would walk through fire for Alex.
In the end I did have to walk through fire, being imprisoned for publishing too much of the truth about the plot to destroy Alex and his reputation. Afterwards Alex very simply said “You had my back. I will always have yours.” We never mentioned it again; we both understood.
I am not going to give a history of Alex’s political career. There are plenty of others to do that. But I do want to recall that Alex was the only leading British politician to oppose the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999 – on the day that Tony Blair called on NATO to intensify the bombing.
Alex vigorously opposed the invasion of Iraq and led campaigns to have Tony Blair impeached by parliament after being proven to have lied over Iraqi WMD, and also campaigned for charges against Bush and Blair at the International Criminal Court. He opposed the devastating bombing of Libya that plunged that country into a chaos from which it has never recovered.
His penultimate tweet referenced Starmer as following in Blair’s warmongering footsteps:
Starmer’s “we stand with Israel” declaration seems eerily reminiscent of a previous Labour Prime Minister’s open-ended commitment of some 20 years ago to stand with the USA on Iraq “come what may”. (1/3) https://t.co/s0oExsqwwc
— Alex Salmond (@AlexSalmond) October 2, 2024
Alex led an extremely tight and efficient SNP government of Scotland from 2007–2014 which had a long list of social accomplishments to be proud of and established Scotland as a more left-wing polity than England, with no tuition fees, free social care for the elderly, better childcare, free NHS prescriptions etc.
His weakness was that he was over-trustful and did not see the British security services coming. I know, because he told me, that Alex regretted allowing Angus Robertson to force through an amendment to SNP party policy in favour of Scotland remaining in NATO. Ironically, Alex did so because he thought it would pre-empt and buy off the US and UK security services, when of course they were actually behind it.
I do not pretend I had more than a nodding acquaintance with Alex before the plot to destroy him came to fruition. When he summoned me to meet him urgently on a cold, damp Edinburgh night I was delighted to go to see my hero. What he told me dropped my jaw.
But what stays with me most about that evening, in a bedroom of the George Hotel in Edinburgh, is that what he told me made it absolutely obvious that the plot against him was initiated in and directed from Nicola Sturgeon’s office. He was plainly in huge emotional pain over this.
He was also focused on Liz Lloyd, whom he believed to be an MI5 agent. He said that Lloyd had no connection to Scottish Independence and had initially been placed inside the SNP as an intern to an MP (or MSP, I forget) by a British Government graduate training scheme.
If you want to revisit today the conspiracy against Alex Salmond, I do recommend you read my affidavits in my own contempt of court hearing (as redacted for publication by the Crown Office).
The state deemed these affidavits so dangerous that Scotland’s corrupt judiciary quite literally ruled that they do not exist at all. They are “so evidently untrue as not to require cross-examination”. They were not accepted as evidence in my own case for which they were my evidence, which is truly remarkable. I was jailed with my evidence not even considered, or tested, as “self-evidently untrue”.
I swear to you and to the entire world, on my life and on every thing that I love or that is holy, that every single word is true. There has never been any evidence that anything in them is untrue. Everything we have learnt about the SNP in the last three years supports the truth of my story. Nothing has contradicted it.
In that last conversation with me, Alex was excited about recent council by-election results for his new party, Alba. It has been obtaining about six per cent, which would be enough to get representation in the Scottish parliament with its proportional system. More importantly, most SNP voters were now giving second preferences to Alba rather than the Greens, which he felt was an important shift.
Alex was very happy that Alba was more openly radical than the SNP. Anti-NATO and anti-monarchy, it represents a more radical route to Scottish Independence.
For a former First Minister to be building up a tiny party from scratch and getting 6% of the vote may be portrayed by some as humiliating. But Alex was really excited and upbeat about it; he relished the challenge and was thinking long term. There were days in his young life when 6% would have been a decent result for the SNP. He was simply bubbling with enthusiasm.
I should also recall the occasion when he hosted Peter Oborne, David Davis and me to dinner at a Mayfair restaurant and we got through three bottles of champagne before we even started to order. Alex was enormously good company and really enjoyed the finer things in life.
Heaven just got more fun. At least Alex will never have to worry about seeing his perjured accusers there.
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Sad I did not hear your name on George Galloway’s show today. You are my source for this man’s name and story. Sorry, I live in USA – MSM cover our ears. Glad you and Julian are both free. My grandmother had Scottish ancestors. Look forward to being able to support your fine writing.
Galloway was not optimistic about Alba’s future without Salmond. Here’s hoping he’s wrong about that.
This is beautiful Craig. My best friend died a few years ago and they played ‘Arglwydd dyma fi’ Lord Here I Am at her funeral. As I tried to sleep last night having heard the tragic news that afternoon before it became public I tried to get my Alexa to play the hymn but she didn’t like my mangling of the Welsh language. Imagine my surprise (and my sobs) when I got to church today and they sang the English version. Our friend was not a saint and never pretended to be one. But he was a visionary, a strategist and a brilliant speaker and uniquely a politician who genuinely liked people. I often told him that I felt he was like a footballer or rugby player who could ‘see space’ before the ball got there. He was so kind to me when I moved up to Scotland. I had been politically inactive for many years (at least on a public stage) due to a breakdown caused by the very nasty people inside CND which I worked for and then led during the first Gulf War. Alex rehabilitated me and gave me my confidence back. He was kind, generous, hilariously funny and did a great imitation of Donald Trump. I am positive that flights of angels have sped him to his rest.
Wonderful obituary for a great man, great leader, great politician.
Well said, Mr. Murray
Perusing the early morning news and discussion websites and those of yesterday, I see speculation that the MoD will this morning be requested to lay on an aircraft of the Royal Air Force to repatriate the body.
There are two reasons why I think such a plan is not going to occur.
Sadly, the RAF has a well experienced and solemn ritual for such flights, usually to transport the remains of British servicemen who have fallen in our crazy foreign wars. The protocol involves the pallbearers carrying the flag-draped coffin up the tail ramp. That flag is, of course, the Union flag. The sole exception of which I’m aware was the transport last year of the late Queen from the former RAF Turnhouse to RAF Northolt.
Given that Mr Salmond devoted much of his formidable political career to achieving the destruction of the United Kingdom, such a draping of the Union flag on his coffin would be excruciatingly inappropriate.
The other problem that I can foresee is that the aircraft being assigned for the task, perhaps a C17 or A400, would quite certainly be one which is due to return, empty, from RAF Akrotiri having delivered munitions of war for onward transport to Israel as a British contribution to the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people. It would be grossly inappropriate for Alex Salmond, even in mortis, to have any involvement in such a flight.
Not going to happen, methinks.
It’s not pleasant to think of his transport coffin being shoveled into the cargo bay of a commercial aircraft by a forklift truck, even if draped appropriately by the Saltyre, but that’s what’s going to have to happen.
The RAF does operate a pair of Dassault Falcons for VIP transport duties. Sending one of these would seem to be most appropriate and more economic although whether it’s what Salmond would’ve wanted is another matter.
Not very dignified to load the coffin into the baggage compartment by forklift.
Totally impractical to manoeuvre the box up the airstairs and around the corner into the pax cabin.
Then, there’s the matter of the Union flag which 20Sqn would most certainly insist upon as a mater of military protocol and discipline.
Not going to happen, I would suggest.
.
Usual for coffins to be placed in the cargo hold. If you remember Princess Diana arrived back from Paris in the hold of an RAF aircraft.
The flag would only be protocol in the event of military personnel or a member of the Royal Family. No reason why Salmond couldn’t have a Saltire or no flag at all. There are news reports of a ‘special flight’ being organised within the next few days but no word as to military or civil.
Anyway , we shall see.
Thank you for this lovely obituary of a man who was larger than life, for which he was hounded by the facetious characters you highlighted, and who themselves could never gain the stature and initiating proffessionalism he had within him.
Sorry for your loss, to see your friend leave so sudden. My sincere condolences to his family and friends.
I concur with your sentiments Craig, that Mr Alex Salmond was and still is one of the best our nation can produce! Brave honest and a representative, one of the one of a hundred …a.Wallace! They still exist, and far more in excess of that one hundred! Wallace…. Where art thou!
God bless him. My condolences to his wife and family
Superb eulogy, Craig.
Scotland was fortunate to have a man/politician of Alex’s calibre. And he was fortunate to have stalwart friends like yourself & others who stood by him when most needed.
The Dream & the Struggle continues. As does the fight: the fight to clear his name of the foul slander inflicted on it by political plankton unfit to lace his boots.
The Guardian can’t help itself from having a dig, with Ella Baron’s cartoon on the death of Alex Salmond.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2024/oct/13/ella-baron-death-alex-salmond-cartoon
Showing Salmond campaigning for independence from the ‘United Kingdom’ of heaven.
I’d hardly describe Westminster rule as some form of heaven; more like the ninth circle of hell. In Dante’s Inferno, the ninth circle consisted of the most depraved sinners and the deepest levels of isolation – well, they’re certainly evil, in supporting ethnic cleansing and genocide, and as for the isolation they’re profoundly out of touch with those they profess to serve.
The Guardian are a joke – posing as enlightened, liberal and progressive, while all the time relentlessly peddling the British government’s news agenda, and censoring or banning readers who question it.
I suppose, at least the cartoonist, Ella Baron, acknowledges he made it there.
Which is far from certain for many of his enemies.
‘Baron’ by name – ‘barren’ by nature.
Third rate cartoonist, obviously
Sorry for your loss. Especially after what you went through to defend the right to a fair trial.
Brings to my mind also Charles Kennedy, who I still feel a bit sad about from a distance. I gathered that was related to alcohol.
You’ll be feeling this sudden death Craig, along with so many people in Scotland.. What we glimpsed in 2014 was an opening into our individual and collective spirit, here in Scotland.. A spirit which has been buried for so many generations under the heavy blanket of conditioning laid upon us by the killing machine of the empire.. So many of us came to know of the creative, enthusiastic spirit which was gathering force throughout all the town halls prior to the referendum.. None of that would’ve happened if Alex Salmond had chosen to put his life force into another pathway through life..
I trust the streets will be lined for his funeral procession.
It’s been difficult to observe the headlines in the gutter press which attacked him so insidiously.. Now pretending that they cared and respected him.. Those who know.. know better.
Rest In Peace Alex Salmond
I greatly hope that the Scottish Parliament will commission and install a lifesize+50% sized statue of Alex Salmond and install it in a prominent postion adjacent to the parliament building.
It would be lovely if Nicola Sturgeon and at least three of her co-conspirators would be forced to attend, on escorted visit from Barlinnie in handcuffs, the unveiling of the statue.
You named four honest people in your above tribute to him: David Davis, Alex Salmond, Peter Oborne and yourself. Thanks.
It shocked me to discover more about the real way the world operates, rather late in life. Thanks to the ‘alternative media’ for this. The MSM seem beyond hope. The claim that the UK was one of the least corrupt countries seems itself to have been rather clever propaganda.
It’s hard to see how unseen evidence can be evidently anything.
Hmmm, I guess calling alcohol abuse one of the finer things in life is a robustly Scottish euphemism, but there is apparently a generational gap growing there.
We were taught something about British political policing a few decades back, and one thing that struck me was the scale, the sheer resources needed to run such an extensive clandestine operation against the British and colonial publics. Any idea of the cost in today’s money and human resources? Not just field operatives and managers and support staff, but all those weeders and vetters and censors and blacklisters and goodness-knows-what-else.
Why was Alba’s anti-NATO, anti-Monarchy platform so unsuccessful, given that these targets are two of the greatest evils humankind has inflicted on the planet?
I very much hope you’ve written a memoir and put it somewhere secure, so that the full details of what Alex told you are not lost to history. I am sad that he didn’t live to see justice (not to mention independence), and have no faith that the truth will out or justice be done during any of our lifetimes.
This is a great article. It was such a shame that they tried to bring him down like this and so unnecessary too. Now that he is no longer with us I have the feeling that he is viewed more positively by press and UK govt. Perhaps even enough for them to try for a conspiracy case at some point in the future. Not for justice, of course, but rather to cause as much damage as they can to the SNP and, they may hope, to independence in general. If the government at Holyrood changes at the next election I suspect something like this may be put, slowly, into motion. They might make a show of supporting his wife and family through this. Many have already been neutralized by the donations case but this could see more people involved and potentially longer sentences if charged correctly. But who knows, it might just be too much dirty linen..
Big Alec – truly Alba’s Braveheart of the modern era. A loss to all, not only in his native land – Alba Gu Bràth! Saoirse!! The Machiavelli’s of Westminster and the their SNP toadies need to be brought to account. The death of Norman Kirk, PM of Aotearoa/NZ, an advocate of a Nuclear Free Aotearoa and the Pacific, with an independent foreign policy, raised similar concerns of the involvement of “outside agencies”.
“Cuir A Mach An Sasunnach, ‘S Thoir A Stigh An Cù” – Put out the Englishman and bring in the dog.
Liz Lloyd
Joined SNP in 2004 as Spad to List MSP Jim Mather
SNP’s Head of Communications by 2007
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24072289.liz-lloyd-gives-evidence-covid-inquiry/
I was tremendously surprised and deeply saddened to hear of Salmond’s death.
I very much liked his opposition to nuclear weapons, to the bombing of Serbia and to the invasion of Iraq etc.
He will be sadly missed.
It is sad that, whilst Salmond opposed the attack on Libya, all 6 SNP MPs voted for it.
As for infiltration of political parties, I am not remotely surprised. Things are often not what they seem. If pressure groups have been infiltrated, then it would be logical to infiltrate political parties as well.
Many thanks for your article, Craig.
I read he had complained of leg pains earlier in the day, so a hint of possible DVT leading to a block at the heart? These have also been linked to mRNA covid vaccines, but a recent flight would probably be the likely reason, if indeed this is the reason. His Scottish colleague had just asked him to unscrew a bottle of ketchup for her when he simply fell back unconscious. A good way to go, some would say, but a sad loss for the nation at a time when courage and honesty in politics is so needed. RIP
Thank you for this.
I hope we can make sense of what happened.
A very nice article about one of the giants of UK politics over the last 50 years. Harold is about the only one that could compete with him. A great loss.
On another subject. When we become Independent should we deal with the English ports regarding fishing rights or westminster. As westminster often uses such deals for its own benefit?
Thank you Craig for all you did and suffered to help save Alex Salmond from Unionist gaslighting. That was a heroic Clint Eastwood moment of understatement.
‘ You had my back.”
Repatriation of the body by the Royal Air force having been ruled out for a couple of reasons which I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, I’m told by aviation sources that Brian Cox (the actor, not the scientist) has chartered a commercial aircraft to do the job.
The transport coffin will quite certainly be graced with the Saltire, as is appropriate.
I disagreed with Alex when he said “it’s just a matter of time”, as he pointed to the fact that under 55s all voted for independence.
I’m not going to check the data much at this stage, so take this as a hypothesis if you like
What the logic of “its only a matter of time” ignores is the impact of repeat medical prescriptions on the over 50s. There’s a big jump in the amount we are, on average, prescribed from about 45 years. So the over 55s are likely to be increasingly dependent upon such prescriptions, disproportionately to those younger.
And what happened in the week before the vote?
The media said prescription medications couldn’t be guaranteed if independence was voted for. And the over 50s shit themselves. Not literally, I hasten to add.
If you had the vote tomorrow, i fear similar tactics will be used, and because of the over 55s legalised drug dependency, they will vote the way their dealer tells them to.
Opium for the masses is not simply something from our history.
Your affidavits while interesting are too broad a sweep to use as defensive evidence in a contempt of court case. You were relitigating the whole case against Salmond as opposed to addressing the charge against yourself. Only a few of the paragraphs directly address the matter before the court. You needed a better lawyer.
However the real substance of the case against you becomes evident when you compare Garavelli’s work to your own publications. The accusations made against you and the subsequent prosecutions had no relationship to the Salmond case or your reporting of it. It was simply revenge. Consequently evidence for the defense was unnecessary.
Something in the past will be the reason for the government to have acted against you. My guess would be firstly that they considered you, formerly one of their family, to have betrayed a trust, or secondly that you exposed too much of the fantasy surrounding the Skripal poisoning.
“Alex Salmond. Always My Hero.” Writes Craig Murray; one hero salutes another one. Craig Murray also felt: “In Scottish politics, Alex Salmond was by far the biggest threat to the UK state. I am really sad he has left us. It leaves a hero-sized hole in my consciousness… Most of Scotland’s population would say the very same.
Scotland is more left-wing than England, with no tuition fees, free social care for the elderly, better childcare, free NHS prescriptions etc… England and Scotland are only neighbours on this island – different populations, with absolutely different political philosophies. One of these countries is bound to fail – the other will not.
Realistically speaking, political issues are ineffably difficult to understand or contemplate; Scottish and English mentalities are diametrically opposite ideologies. An insoluble challenge.
Thanks for your time,
Ewen A Morrison