One of Scotland's richest men, Sir Tom Hunter, has acknowledged that he paid to have Alex Salmond's body transported home from the Balkans.

Although Hunter, a multimillionaire philanthropist and financier, had mixed feelings about Scottish independence and frequently criticised Scottish government policies, he claimed that Salmond had "devoted his life to Scotland."

After Salmond passed away unexpectedly during a lunch on Saturday, there was much conjecture as to who had privately paid for the charter aeroplane that was scheduled to transport his body home from North Macedonia on Friday.

The donor, according to officials in Alba, the party of the former first minister, wished to stay secret until Salmond's funeral, which is anticipated to be held in private in his hometown of Strichen, Aberdeenshire.

Hunter, who donated £100,000 to the Labour party in 2001, said he wanted to end the speculation after significant media inquiries.

“While he and I disagreed on some of his ambitions, Alex Salmond devoted his life to Scotland and the Scottish people and as such he, and importantly his family, deserved the dignity and privacy of a private return to the home of his birth,” he said in a short statement.

“Our deepest sympathy and thoughts are with his family at this time. To be clear, I remain resolutely apolitical.”

Hunter, best known latterly for setting up the Hunter Foundation, which supports social enterprises, entrepreneurship and fundraising appeals such as Band Aid and STV’s annual children’s appeal, made his money from founding the retailer Sports Division and then property investment.

In 2001, he set up the investment firm West Coast Capital and took stakes in the theme parks company Merlin, the retirement homes developer McCarthy & Stone, Travelodge, and Dobbies garden centres.

That allowed him to claim the crown as Scotland’s first homegrown billionaire in 2007, according to the Sunday Times rich list; the financial crisis in 2008 and onwards sliced a reputed £250m off that wealth. He is now estimated to be worth £729m.