He was in the best of spirits.I was sitting across from him at lunch when all of a sudden he fell into the arms of a colleague

Organiser made dash to call ambulance as 'great man we all looked up to' passed away

- CHRIS MCCALL

ALEX Salmond was said to be in "the best of spirits" when he collapsed and died at a lunch after a political conference in North Macedonia.

Delegates were left in shock at the event on Saturday when the former first minister suffered a suspected heart attack aged 69.

Mark Donfried, director of the Academy for Cultural Diplomacy, which helped organise the event, paid tribute to the late SNP leader.

He said: "He was really in the best of spirits, the best of health. I was sitting across from him at lunch yesterday when all of a sudden he just went and fell into the arms of a colleague of mine on the other side of the table.

"I immediately got up and ran to call an ambulance and when I came back, he was on the floor.

"We're all completely shocked -the entire hotel, the conference, it's been very difficult for all of us. He was a great man who we all looked up to and so we're still all in a state of shock.

"Last night, we had a brief moment of reflection on his legacy. There was a humility with Alex, he had an authenticity, it was amazing to see how he'd touched individuals he had only known for a few days."

Salmond had been invited to the southern European country to address a panel on his experiences trying to win the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence.

Speaking just hours before his death, Salmond told delegates: "I think the worst excess of the entire referendum campaign of 10 years ago was that someone got an egg thrown at them, which is hardly in the great excesses of politics."