SALMOND’S SISTER STANDS

THE family resemblance is striking as Gail Hendry follows in the political footsteps of her big brother.

On the day Alex Salmond defends his Gordon seat in the General Election, his little sister will seek election as MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire.

The June 8 Holyrood by-election has been triggered by the decision of incumbent MSP John Lamont to stand as the Westminster Tory candidate for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk.

Mother-of-three Mrs Hendry, a special needs teacher living in Hawick with her husband David and their children, has been involved in political activism all her life but this is her first bid to enter frontline politics. She grew up in Linlithgow in the 1960s and is nine years younger than her brother, who she calls ‘Alec’ and regards as her hero.

Mrs Hendry, pictured with Mr Salmond, said: ‘He is very clever, but maybe I see a different side to him. He is a super brother, a great uncle.’