KENNY MACASKILL has been elected to lead the Alba Party, pledging to deliver his predecessor Alex Salmond’s “dream of independence.”

The party was co-founded and led by the former first minister after his acrimonious departure from the SNP.

Following his sudden death at a conference in North Macedonia in October, a leadership election took place in which Mr MacAskill, an ex-MP and lifelong friend of Mr Salmond, defeated former SNP leadership contender and Alba MSP Ash Regan by 1,331 votes (52.3 per cent) to 1,212 (47.7 per cent).