Derry Irvine, Baron Irvine of Lairg

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Alexander Andrew Mackay Irvine, Baron Irvine of Lairg, PC, QC (born 23 June 1940) is a British lawyer and political figure who served as Lord Chancellor under his former pupil barrister Tony Blair.

Born in Inverness, he studied Scots law at the University of Glasgow and English law at Christ's College, Cambridge. He taught law briefly at the London School of Economics and was called to the English bar in 1967. In the late 1960s Donald Dewar's wife Alison left him for Irvine and the two men remained unreconciled even though they were later to serve in the same Cabinet. He joined chambers headed by Morris Finer 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 barristers 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 peerage 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.

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, the Lord Chancellor's official residence in the Palace of Westminster was redecorated at a cost to the taxpayer of over half a million pounds (the hand-printed wallpaper 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.

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.

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 to office was however later abandoned though the office was reformed partially in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.

Preceded by The Lord Mackay of Clashfern

Lord Chancellor 1997–2003

Succeeded by The Lord Falconer of Thoroton Also Sec. State Constitutional Affairs