Former Lib Dem leader Lord Ming Campbell dies aged 84

He acted as the party’s foreign affairs spokesperson for 14 years and was a prominent critic of the Iraq war arguing that the case for war was unproven and possibly unlawful.

His grandchild Gregor Grant-Suttie said: "“Ming achieved a lot through his life, across sport, law and politics. But the myriad of accolades and awards he collected in his professional life paled in comparison to his achievements as a husband, father figure, grandfather, and friend.

“He was a rare breed of Scotsman whose contribution and ideas spanned so much further than his home country's borders; his level of thinking around issues that were international, particularly around defence, gave Scotland the ability to be extremely proud of one of their own, whose ideas were so much larger than narrowly focused UK politics.

“He was of a generation where hard work and improving oneself through education were prioritised, while the modern day notion of relative standards versus others was alien to him - in every step of his life he only ever compared himself against his own exceptionally high standards.”

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said: “With a parliamentary career spanning five decades, Ming Campbell was a dedicated public servant, a tireless champion for Fife, St Andrews and the UK, and a true Liberal giant.

“He was the Liberal Democrat spokesperson on foreign affairs when the world changed on 9/11, and his principled leadership opposing the Iraq War was a mark of his morality, courage and wisdom. He spoke up for what was right, even when it was hard.

“Like so many of us, I benefitted greatly from Ming’s advice and guidance over the many years we worked closely together. But more than that, he was an incredibly warm and caring friend and colleague, with such generosity and humour.

“Ming was always great company - whether talking about sport with the authority of a captain of Britain’s athletics team and a British 100m record-holder, or asking about you and your family, when he would always pass on kind thoughts from his wife, Elspeth - his rock.

“All of us in the Liberal Democrat family and beyond will miss him terribly. Our thoughts are with all who loved him.”

Walter Menzies “Ming” Campbell, who has died at the age of 84, was born on May 22 1941 in Glasgow in the midst of the Second World War.He later claimed he was delivered in an air raid shelter while his father, a joiner, sat outside drinking from a bottle of whisky.

He attended Hillhead High School, then a fee-paying local authority school, from where he won a place to read law at Glasgow University, where his friends included the future Labour politicians John Smith and Donald Dewar.

It was at university that he took up running seriously, representing Britain at the Olympics in the 200 metres and the 4×100 metres relay while studying for a second degree, becoming president of the university union and doing his apprenticeship as a solicitor.

Having also found time to join the university Liberal Club – in part as a reaction against his parents’ socialism – his interest in politics fell away after leaving university and he embarked on a career in law.

It was not until the 1970s that he was drawn back in, becoming chairman of the Scottish Liberal Party at the age of 34, although it was only in 1987 that he finally gained election to Westminster – at the fourth attempt – as MP for North East Fife.

Following the merger of the Liberals and the Social Democrats, his talents were quickly recognised by new leader Paddy Ashdown, who in 1992 made him the party’s foreign affairs spokesman – a brief he was to hold for 14 years until he became leader himself.

Who was Lord Ming Campbell?

• Born: Walter Menzies Campbell, Glasgow, Scotland, May 1941,
• Died: September 2025: Death announced on Friday, 26, September,
• Cause of death: It has not been stated how he died, but he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2002,
• Political positions: Liberal Democrat MP for North East Fife from 1987 to 2015, when he joined the House of Lords, and party leader from March 2006 to October 2007. Latterly a Lib Dem peer in the House of Lords,
• Personal life: Married to Elspeth Urquhart, Lady Campbell, from 1970 to her death in 2023,
• Athletics career: A sprinter, Lord Campbell was British men's 100m record holder from 1967 to 1974 with a time of 10.20 seconds. He captained the British athletics team at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo when he ran the 200m and in the 4x100m relay