Election update: SNP seals first Euro poll triumph

The final results gave the parties two seats each, while the Tories and Liberal Democrats each picked up one.

But the full scale of the Labour reverse was shown in the percentage share of the vote.

The SNP secured 29.1% of Scottish votes, with Labour on 20.8% and the Tories on 16.8%.

The Liberal Democrats achieved 11.5%, the Greens 7.3%, and the UK Independence Party (Ukip) 5.2%.

The BNP trailed on 2.5%.

It is the first time the SNP has topped the poll in a European election in Scotland.

On the basis of the European Parliament voting figures, the SNP would come first in 22 Scottish council areas, the Tories in four, the Liberal Democrats in three – and Labour also reduced to just three.

Newly-returned SNP MEP Ian Hudghton welcomed the "fantastic result".

He told supporters at the count result in Edinburgh: "The SNP said the target was to win the election – we've won the election.

"This is a fantastic result for the SNP and a ringing endorsement of our success in government.

"It's a vote of confidence in our record speaking up for Scottish interests in the European Parliament."

The party won 22 of the 32 local authority areas in Scotland, Mr Hudghton added.

"We've won in the south, east, west, north and central belt," he said.

"Communities across Scotland have stood up and given us their confidence in our ability to lead Scotland forward."

Successful Labour candidate David Martin admitted the election was difficult but claimed it had been a "remarkable result".

He said: "The Labour Party going into this campaign faced what you could almost describe as a perfect storm.

"We faced the election debacle at Westminster, the global recession and, frankly, an unnecessarily-divided party.

"To get two seats at the end of that process was a remarkable result for the Labour Party. "

While the European parliament results in Scotland were a humiliation for Labour, they were not quite the meltdown seen elsewhere in the UK.

The final piece of the European election voting jigsaw in Scotland fell into place this morning when the Western Isles result was announced.

This saw the SNP in first place, at 43%, in an area they already represent at Westminster and Holyrood.

Labour came second in the Western Isles at 18%.

The Tories, with 8.4% of the vote, came behind the Christian Party with 9%.

And Ukip, at 5.2%, out-polled the Liberal Democrats in the Western Isles, at 4.7%.

After the Scottish voting picture became clear last night, First Minister and SNP leader Alex Salmond said: "This is an historic result for the SNP, up 10 points on the last European election and the first time we have ever won a UK-wide election in Scotland."

He went on: "This is Labour's worst share of the vote since before World War I and the emergence of the modern Labour Party."

Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray admitted the results were "disappointing" for Labour but said lessons had been learned from the campaign.

"The public have been deeply disillusioned by the expenses scandal and Labour, as the Government, has taken the main hit," he said.

"But as Gordon Brown said, Labour's priorities are to clean up politics and work towards economic recovery."

East Lothian, the area represented at Holyrood by Mr Gray, was one of several areas where the SNP trounced Labour.

Another was Edinburgh South West, the area represented at Westminster by Chancellor Alistair Darling.

And in East Renfrewshire, the area represented at Westminster by Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy, Labour came third behind the Tories and the second-placed SNP.

With all voting results in, the final turnout in Scotland was 28.6%, compared with 30.75% in 2004.