Derry Irvine, Baron Irvine of Lairg
Encyclopedia
Alexander Andrew Mackay Irvine, Baron Irvine of Lairg, PC, QC
(born 23 June 1940), known as Derry Irvine, is a British lawyer
and political figure who served as Lord Chancellor
under his former pupil
barrister
Tony Blair
.
He became a figure of controversy in 1998, when details of the renovations carried out on his official residence were made public. They cost a total of £650,000, including hand-printed wallpaper
worth £59,000.
, Scotland
, he studied Scots Law at the University of Glasgow
and became involved in debating
with the Glasgow University Dialectic Society
and at the Glasgow University Union
, where he befriended contemporary Labourites Donald Dewar
and John Smith
. After studying English Law at Christ's College, Cambridge
, he taught Law briefly at the London School of Economics
and was called to the Bar in 1967. In the late 1960s, Donald Dewar's wife, Alison, left Dewar for Irvine, and the two men remained unreconciled, even though they were later to serve in the same Cabinet
.
QC (later as a judge, Sir Morris Finer). In 1970 he fought Hendon North
as a Labour Party
candidate. He became a QC
in 1978 and head of chambers in 1981, on founding 11 King's Bench Walk Chambers
. Among his pupil barrister
s were Tony Blair
and Cherie Booth, and at their wedding he dubbed himself "Cupid QC" for having introduced them. During the 1980s he also became a Recorder, and then a Deputy High Court Judge.
He was a legal adviser to the Labour Party through the 1980s, which included advice on how to expel members of the Militant tendency
, and he was given a life peer
age as Baron Irvine of Lairg, of Lairg in the District of Sutherland
in 1987. His appointment as Lord Chancellor after Blair's election victory in 1997 was widely expected after he had served for five years as Shadow Lord Chancellor. In fact, Blair's predecessor as Labour leader - John Smith
- had decided that Irvine should become Lord Chancellor in the next Labour government.
Probably the highlight of Irvine's period in office was the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights
into United Kingdom law. Irvine devised a measure to maintain the supremacy of Parliament while allowing judges to declare Acts of Parliament not to be in compliance with the Convention.
In addition to his traditional role of supervising the legal system, in 2001 he gained responsibility for a wide range of constitutional issues including human rights and freedom of information. This was interpreted as a move away from a strong freedom of information law, as Irvine was thought not to be a firm believer in the concept.
was redecorated at a cost to the taxpayer of £650,000. Hand-printed wallpaper alone accounted for £59,000. Although the decision had been taken by an all-party House of Lords
Committee before the election, much of the criticism devolved on him. However, contractors working on the renovations were forced to sign the Official Secrets Act
in order to avoid revelations of the expenditure leaking out to the public.
Early in 2003 he was awarded a pay rise of £22,691 as a result of a formula designed to keep his salary ahead of that of the Lord Chief Justice
. After an outcry he accepted a more modest rise.
.
In 2005 Irvine became a Patron of the charity Prisoners Abroad
.
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(born 23 June 1940), known as Derry Irvine, is a British lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and political figure who served as Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
under his former pupil
Pupillage
A pupillage, in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland, is the barrister's equivalent of the training contract that a solicitor undertakes...
barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
.
He became a figure of controversy in 1998, when details of the renovations carried out on his official residence were made public. They cost a total of £650,000, including hand-printed wallpaper
Wallpaper
Wallpaper is a kind of material used to cover and decorate the interior walls of homes, offices, and other buildings; it is one aspect of interior decoration. It is usually sold in rolls and is put onto a wall using wallpaper paste...
worth £59,000.
Personal life
Born in InvernessInverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, he studied Scots Law at the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow School of Law
The School of Law at the University of Glasgow provides undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Law, and awards the degrees of Bachelor of Laws , Master of Laws , Master of Science , Master of Research and Doctor of Philosophy , the degree of Doctor of Laws...
and became involved in debating
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
with the Glasgow University Dialectic Society
Glasgow University Dialectic Society
The Glasgow University Dialectic Society, re-instituted in 1861, is a student society at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, committed to the promotion of debating, logic, ethics and literary discussion at the University...
and at the Glasgow University Union
Glasgow University Union
Glasgow University Union is one of the largest and oldest students' unions in the UK, serving students and alumni of the University of Glasgow since 1885....
, where he befriended contemporary Labourites Donald Dewar
Donald Dewar
Donald Campbell Dewar was a British politician who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament in Scotland from 1966-1970, and then again from 1978 until his death in 2000. He served in Tony Blair's cabinet as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1997-1999 and was instrumental in the creation...
and John Smith
John Smith (UK politician)
John Smith was a British Labour Party politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his sudden death from a heart attack in May 1994...
. After studying English Law at Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
, he taught Law briefly at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
and was called to the Bar in 1967. In the late 1960s, Donald Dewar's wife, Alison, left Dewar for Irvine, and the two men remained unreconciled, even though they were later to serve in the same Cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
.
Career
He joined chambers headed by Morris FinerMorris Finer
Sir Morris Finer QC was a lawyer and judge.As a young barrister Morris Finer also wrote leaders for the London Evening Standard...
QC (later as a judge, Sir Morris Finer). In 1970 he fought Hendon North
Hendon North (UK Parliament constituency)
Hendon North was a constituency in the former Municipal Borough of Hendon which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
as a Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate. He became a QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
in 1978 and head of chambers in 1981, on founding 11 King's Bench Walk Chambers
11 King's Bench Walk Chambers
11 King's Bench Walk Chambers is a barristers' Chambers founded by Alexander Irvine QC.The chambers specialises in employment law, public and administrative law and commercial law. The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair was a junior tenant on its foundation in 1981 and appointed its founder, Derry...
. Among his pupil barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
s were Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and Cherie Booth, and at their wedding he dubbed himself "Cupid QC" for having introduced them. During the 1980s he also became a Recorder, and then a Deputy High Court Judge.
He was a legal adviser to the Labour Party through the 1980s, which included advice on how to expel members of the Militant tendency
Militant Tendency
The Militant tendency was an entrist group within the British Labour Party based around the Militant newspaper that was first published in 1964...
, and he was given a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
age as Baron Irvine of Lairg, of Lairg in the District of Sutherland
Sutherland
Sutherland is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic administrative county of Scotland. It is now within the Highland local government area. In Gaelic the area is referred to according to its traditional areas: Dùthaich 'IcAoidh , Asainte , and Cataibh...
in 1987. His appointment as Lord Chancellor after Blair's election victory in 1997 was widely expected after he had served for five years as Shadow Lord Chancellor. In fact, Blair's predecessor as Labour leader - John Smith
John Smith (UK politician)
John Smith was a British Labour Party politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his sudden death from a heart attack in May 1994...
- had decided that Irvine should become Lord Chancellor in the next Labour government.
Probably the highlight of Irvine's period in office was the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...
into United Kingdom law. Irvine devised a measure to maintain the supremacy of Parliament while allowing judges to declare Acts of Parliament not to be in compliance with the Convention.
In addition to his traditional role of supervising the legal system, in 2001 he gained responsibility for a wide range of constitutional issues including human rights and freedom of information. This was interpreted as a move away from a strong freedom of information law, as Irvine was thought not to be a firm believer in the concept.
Reputation
Irvine's reputation derives from his skills as a lawyer rather than as a politician, and he regularly faced controversy as Lord Chancellor. Soon after his appointment in 1998, the Lord Chancellor's official residence in the Palace of WestminsterPalace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
was redecorated at a cost to the taxpayer of £650,000. Hand-printed wallpaper alone accounted for £59,000. Although the decision had been taken by an all-party House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
Committee before the election, much of the criticism devolved on him. However, contractors working on the renovations were forced to sign the Official Secrets Act
Official Secrets Act
The Official Secrets Act is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India and Malaysia and formerly in New Zealand for legislation that provides for the protection of state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security.-United Kingdom:*The Official Secrets...
in order to avoid revelations of the expenditure leaking out to the public.
Early in 2003 he was awarded a pay rise of £22,691 as a result of a formula designed to keep his salary ahead of that of the Lord Chief Justice
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. Historically, he was the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, but that changed as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005,...
. After an outcry he accepted a more modest rise.
Retirement
Following his retirement in June 2003, his successor was named as Lord Falconer of Thoroton. At the same time it was announced that the post of Lord Chancellor would be abolished. Irvine was known to be against such a policy and it was widely speculated that his departure had not been voluntary. The plan to abolish the office was however later abandoned though it was partially reformed in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005Constitutional Reform Act 2005
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the existing role of the Law Lords as well as some powers of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and removed the functions of Speaker of...
.
In 2005 Irvine became a Patron of the charity Prisoners Abroad
Prisoners Abroad
Prisoners Abroad is a UK-registered charity which supports British citizens who are imprisoned overseas. It also works with ex-prisoners returning to the UK and with families members and friends of those detained. The organisation aims to provide for the basic welfare needs of Britons who are held...
.