Political leaders are among those who have gathered in Edinburgh to pay tribute to former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond.
First Minister John Swinney and former prime minister Gordon Brown joined the service at St Giles’ Cathedral with deputy first minister Kate Forbes and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
Mr Swinney was met with boos as he arrived at the service, with at least one person in the crowd outside on the Royal Mile shouting he was a “traitor”.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and former prime minister Gordon Brown attend the public memorial service at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh (Jane Barlow/PA)
The memorial is being lead by Reverend George Whyte, with Mr Salmond’s lifelong friend and Alba Party acting leader Kenny MacAskill expected to speak.
Former Scottish National Party leader Mr Salmond died last month in North Macedonia at the age of 69.
He took office in Holyrood in 2007, before winning a majority for the SNP in 2011 and securing the independence referendum three years later.
Despite losing the vote and subsequently quitting as first minister, Mr Salmond continued in politics, sitting as an SNP MSP between 2015 and 2017, then standing for the upstart Alba Party at the 2021 Holyrood election after a rift with his successor Nicola Sturgeon saw him leave the party for good.
Mr Salmond was at a conference in North Macedonia when he suffered a heart attack, with his body repatriated with the help of businessman Sir Tom Hunter.
He was buried in a private family ceremony near his home in Strichen, Aberdeenshire, on October 29.