The death has been announced of James Mackay, Lord Mackay of Clashfern KT at the age of 99. After a distinguished beginning as a mathematician he returned to Edinburgh to read Law, was called to the Scots bar in 1955 and took silk in 1965. In an illustrious legal career he was successively Sheriff Principal for Renfrew and Argyll, Vice-Dean, then Dean, of the Faculty of Advocates, and Lord Advocate. He was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice in 1984 and a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary in 1985. In 1987, Margaret Thatcher appointed him, a serving Law Lord, as Lord Chancellor, in which position he served for ten years. He retired from the House of Lords in 2022.

Lord Mackay was a devout member and elder of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, Continue reading →