SNP leader helps mark US Independence Day

INDEPENDENCE Day has come early for Alex Salmond – with a reception to mark the anniversary of the United States' independence from Great Britain.

The First Minister, who hopes to mark Scotland's own independence day in 2014, was invited to a reception at the US Consulate in Edinburgh last night.

The US Declaration of Independence was approved by Congress on July 2, 1776, although it was not formally adopted until two days later, with celebrations across the US every July 4 to mark the event.

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