MOTOR neurone disease (MND) campaigner and patient Gordon Aikman will be remembered at two services in Edinburgh today.

Family and friends of the 31-year-old will remember him at a funeral service at Warriston Crematorium before going on to a memorial service in The Hub in the capital.

His husband – journalist Joe Pike – will lead tributes, with First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale and former chancellor Alistair Darling, who led the pro-UK Better Together campaign in 2014, all due to pay their respects.

Aikman was aged 29 and working as research director for Better Together when he was diagnosed with MND in 2014 and afterwards focused his efforts on combating the degenerative disease.

He formed the Gordon’s Fightback campaign, successfully lobbying the First Minister to double the number of MND nurses and fund them through the NHS. He also raised more than £500,000 for research to help find a cure for the terminal condition.

Speaking ahead of the service, Pike said: “Saying goodbye to Gordon is so painful. Today is also about saying thank you – celebrating everything he achieved.”

Donations can be made to GordonsFightback.com