EAST Lothian MP Kenny MacAskill has been elected depute leader of the ALBA Party.

The politician, who defected from the SNP to join the new party in March, spoke at the ALBA conference in Greenock last weekend.

Mr MacAskill, who unsuccessfully stood as a Lothian candidate at the Scottish Parliament elections, spoke of the need for independence and the role an independence convention of all Scotland’s elected representatives could play in achieving it.

Also at the conference was former East Lothian MP George Kerevan, who called for Scotland’s government to be decentralised and local authorities to be given increased powers.

ALBA East Lothian members were prominent in debate and were successful in securing overwhelming support for their resolution, proposed by Ann Hall, on developing a Scottish Model of Legislation of Prostitution.

The model recognises the profoundly harmful impact of prostitution on a person’s life and the legislative approach adopted in many countries.