Tributes to ‘giant of Scots law’ Lord Mccluskey
Tributes have been paid to Lord Mccluskey, a former High Court judge, Labour peer and Scotsman columnist, whose death at the age of 88 was announced last night.
Described as “a giant of Scots law” by Gordon Jackson, QC, Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, John Mccluskey served as Solicitor General for Scotland from 1974 to 1979 and as a Senator of the College of Justice from 1984 to 2004.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon last night said she was “very sorry” to hear of his death, calling him “one of the outstanding Scots lawyers of his generation”.
Tributes have been paid to Lord Mccluskey, a former High Court judge, Labour peer and Scotsman columnist, whose death at the age of 88 was announced last night.
Described as “a giant of Scots law” by Gordon Jackson QC, Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, John Herbert Mccluskey had one of the most distinguished legal careers of the late 20th century.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described him as “one of the outstanding Scots lawyers of his generation”.
Lawyer Aamer Anwar also paid tribute on Twitter, saying: “Sad to hear Lord Mccluskey passed away. A great lawyer & judge – never scared to speak his mind.”
Mccluskey served as Solicitor General for Scotland from 1974-79 and was a senator of the College of Justice from 1984-2004. He was later asked to conduct a high-profile inquiry on the relationship between Scotland’s courts and the UK Supreme Court.
He concluded that only those cases of “general public importance” should be taken to the Supreme Court. “The UK and Scottish governments accepted entirely what we decided, which was very satisfactory,” he later said.
Born in 1929, the son of a solicitor, Mccluskey graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1952 and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates three years later. By the time he was appointed Solicitor General in 1974 he had already made a name for himself.
Mccluskey famously represented Paul Mccartney in 1972 after the former Beatle had been charged for offences, including growing cannabis, on his Mull of Kintyre farm.
He managed to get all but one of the charges dropped on technical grounds and the pop star pleaded guilty to growing cannabis. To the amusement of the court, the QC argued his client had a genuine interest in horticulture and a fine of £30 was imposed.
He told The Scotsman in 2005: “At the end of the hearing, Len Murray [Mccartney’s solicitor] leaned over to me and said, ‘Ask for time to pay’.
“So I did, and the place erupted.”
He was elevated to the peerage in 1976 and remained an active peer until earlier this year. In March he was given a lifetime achievement award at the Scottish Legal Awards.
He said he considered his lifetime achievement to be helping safeguard the independence of the judiciary from a provision of the Scotland Bill which would have allowed Parliament to remove judges.