Alex Salmond tonight mocked Labour leader Ed Miliband for claiming the first thing he thought when he saw a white van and England flags was ‘respect’.

The former Scottish First Minister, accepting an award for ‘politician of the year’, took out a hanky emblazoned with the cross of St George, pretending to wipe away tears.

After dabbing his he held out the hanky in front of him before quipping: 'I'm quite overcome by this award. I look at this hanky and I say to myself the only word that comes to mind is "respect".'

Alex Salmond accepted the award for politician of the year at the Spectator magazine awards in Savoy today

The glittering awards bash was held at the Savoy Hotel in London this afternoon

The joke came after Mr Miliband forced the shadow frontbencher Emily Thornberry to resign after sending a ‘sneering’ tweet about a terraced home draped in England flags.

In the wake of the furore the Labour leader was asked what he thought when he saw a white van. He responded: ‘Respect.’

In his acceptance speech at the Spectator magazine’s awards, Mr Salmond said the last 12 months had been ‘momentous’ for Scotland.

The former Scottish first minister won the honour despite the failure of the Yes campaign to secure independence in September's referendum.

But the level of support for leaving the UK was higher than many had predicted, with the campaign helping to re-energise political debate north of the border.

In the wake of the referendum, SNP membership has soared from 25,000 to more than 92,000, while new proposals to hand Holyrood increased powers over income tax, welfare and other areas have been drawn up in a cross-party deal.

Mr Salmond said he was ‘honoured’ to receive the award for a second time, having previously been recognised in 2011 after the SNP's landslide win in the Scottish elections.

The former SNP leader said: ‘This has been a momentous year for Scotland and, while the Yes campaign may not have won in the referendum, there is no doubt that Scotland has been changed utterly.

‘With the SNP now the third biggest party in the UK with more than twice as many members as the Lib Dems, and support for the party surging in the polls, there is a determination in Scotland to ensure that real progress is delivered.’

Mr Salmond, who is considering standing to become an MP, received his award from the Home Secretary Theresa May

SNP depute leader Stewart Hosie stated: ‘The last year has undoubtedly been an incredible one for both Scotland and the UK as the shape of Scotland's future was decided and the political landscape of our country was transformed.

‘Throughout 2014 Alex Salmond has been at the heart of those events, playing a key role in the inspiring Yes campaign that got so many people involved in politics for the first time.

‘Alex Salmond may now have stepped down as first minister of Scotland but his impact on Scottish and UK politics is one that is recognised by people of all political persuasions and none.