Mr MacAskill also expressed the Salmond family’s appreciation to the North Macedonian Government, for “expediting” the process of releasing Mr Salmond’s body and the Scottish and UK governments for their work in securing his repatriation.

The body of Alex Salmond, Scotland’s former first minister who died during a conference in North Macedonia, will soon be returned by special flight to Scotland.

Alex Salmond's body is ready to be brought home to Scotland, officials in North Macedonia have said. The Alba Party founder and ex-SNP leader and first minister died of a heart attack while attending a conference on Saturday.