Ian Hamilton QC

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Ian Hamilton (born 1925) is a high profile Queen's Counsel, as well as a prominent Scottish Nationalist. Born in Paisley, Scotland in 1925, the son of a tailor he attended the University of Glasgow to study law, after having served in the armed forces. It was at university where Hamilton became politically active. A keen participant in debates at the Glasgow University Union, he was a member of Glasgow University Scottish Nationalist Association (GUSNA) and the Scottish Covenant Association.

He was the campaign manager for the successful bid to have John MacCormick elected Rector of the university, and is perhaps most famous for leading the expedition of a number of student Scottish nationalists in taking the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey on Christmas Eve, 1950 and bringing it to Scotland.

After graduating from university, Hamilton forged a highly successful legal career, becoming one of Scotland's most prominent lawyers. He joined the Labour Party for a short while, but has spent most of his life in active politics as a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP).

He was SNP candidate for the Strathclyde East seat at the 1994 election to the European Parliament, as well as a candidate for them in the Greenock and Inverclyde seat at the 1999 election to the Scottish Parliament. He was also chosen by GUSNA as their candidate for the Glasgow University Rectorial election in 1999 in which he came second to the actor Ross Kemp.

A committed republican, Ian believes that Scotland should become an independent republic state.

Hamilton has written two autobiographical works, that are in part polemical too, A Touch of Treason (1990) and A Touch More Treason (1994).

He has now launched a new blog site, where he continues to post commentary on Scottish social and political life: www.ianhamiltonqc.com