ALEX Salmond's former university turned down the chance to become home to a "monument to himself" which the then-First Minister unveiled hours before he resigned, it has emerged.

In November last year, Mr Salmond unveiled a large commemorative stone at Heriot-Watt University marking his opposition to tuition fees after he singled out his policy of free higher education as the one he was most proud of.

It was carved with the inscription "the rocks will melt with the sun before I allow tuition fees to be imposed on Scottish students", a quote the former SNP leader had given 2011.

Emails, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, reveal that Mr Salmond's alma mater, St Andrew's University, turned down the opportunity to host the stone with its eventual location being the third choice.

Pitching the plan on October 16, an official wrote: "Our idea is that on November 18, the FM will do a photo opp at a university, possibly St Andrews as it is the FM’s former uni, to mark no tuition fees."

Five days later the same spin doctor revealed that St Andrews "may not be able to accommodate us" and an alternative plan was required as the university had "a separate campaign at present involving carved paving stones which they are looking to be sponsored".

The same batch of emails reveals that the Government was "looking to another university, most probably Strathclyde if they are amenable" although this never materialised either. Heriot-Watt eventually agreed to host the stone, which was carved and designed by second-year stonemasonry apprentices from Historic Scotland’s National Conservation Centre and cost only £80, according to the agency.

Mr Salmond unveiled the stone shortly before travelling to Holyrood to deliver his resignation speech.

Mr Salmond said at the event the abolition of tuition fees was his government’s “single biggest achievement”.

Kneeling next to the stone, he continued: “It is without doubt now a commitment writ in stane."

He said it was both “fitting and humbling” to have the “wonderful” monument created by apprentices.

Kezia Dugdale, the Scottish Labour leader, referenced the move in her keynote speech to her party's conference on Saturday as she launched an attack on the SNP's record on education.

She said: "Alex Salmond put a monument to himself in one of our universities, with his tuition fee pledge on it. Let me tell you what I’ll put in our universities. Every youngster from our poorest families who has the potential to get there... the rocks will melt with the sun before I accept even one working class boy or girl who can’t get to university just because their family wasn’t rich enough or their school wasn’t posh enough or the system just did not believe in them enough."

Scottish Conservative young people spokeswoman Liz Smith said: "It's no surprise that some universities turned down Alex Salmond. It was a hostage to fortune then and remains so now, particularly given the anger that these institutions feel to towards the SNP's higher education bill which threatens to rip out the heart of the sector."

At the time of the stone's unveiling, Steve Chapman, then the principal of Heriot-Watt, said: “We are delighted to host this stone, a beautifully crafted piece and a monument to Alex Salmond’s tenure as First Minister and his strongly held commitment to access to education for Scottish students.”