© Murdo MacleodAlex Salmond concedes defeat last night at the Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh.
Alex Salmond has said he will stand down as Scotland's first minister and Scottish National party leader after failing to secure a majority for independence in Thursday's referendum.
He told a press conference in his official residence of Bute House that he would stand down as first minister in November when a new SNP leader will be chosen.
Salmond said: "For me right now there is a decision as to who is best placed to lead this process forward politically.
"I believe that in this new exciting situation, redolent with possibility, party, parliament and country would benefit from new leadership".
He said that he would not accept the SNP's nomination to be a candidate for leader at the party's annual conference in Perth in November, allowing a new party leader to be elected.
Given the SNP's majority in the Scottish parliament, the new leader will also become first minister.
The SNP deputy leader, Nicola Sturgeon, is widely seen as the most likely successor to the long-serving Salmond.
Salmond added that the most important thing to the independence cause was not about who was first minister of Scotland
The independently minded Scots had a massive change of heart ?
The simplest answer is that it was rigged, and there is evidence for it.
Wake up people, we are being lied to.