The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, John Miller, also offered his sympathies to the bereaved.

BBC: Church leaders offer prayers

Also among the mourners were the Rt Rev Andrew McLellan, moderator of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland, who read one of the prayers, Sir David Steel, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament.

BBC: A nation says goodbye

And internationally, the mullahs' success in 2002 has made it harder for General Musharraf to present himself as an enlightened moderator.

ECONOMIST: Parliamentary puppetry | The

The new moderator of the Church of Scotland has officially taken up her post, as the Kirk's General Assembly gets under way.

BBC: Lorna Hood