Who is Sir Ming Campbell? Former Lib Dem leader Menzies Campbell dies aged 84, Sir Ed Davey pays tribute - did he compete at Olympics?
Lord Menzies Campbell, former leader of the Liberal Democrats, has died at the age of 84, the party said.
His family said he died peacefully at the Kyn Hurlingham care facility in London after a period of respite care, adding that one of his final days was spent watching the Lib Dem party conference. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey described Lord Campbell – known as Ming – as a “dedicated public servant, a tireless champion for Fife, St Andrews and the UK, and a true Liberal giant.”
Meanwhile, his grandson 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.”
Lord Campbell was first elected to the Commons in 1987, winning the North East Fife constituency - a seat he held until he retired in 2015. A renowned critic of the Iraq war, he became a leading Lib Dem voice on both foreign affairs and defence, acting as the party’s spokesperson on foreign affairs for fourteen years.
The politician later served as leader of the party from March 2006 until October 2007. Before becoming an MP, Lord Campbell was an Olympic sprinter, holding the UK 100m record from 1967 to 1974.
Inevitably dubbed "The Flying Scotsman", he represented Great Britain at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Though he failed to win a medal, he went on to captain the British men's team at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Jamaica.
A year later, he set a new British 100m record of 10.2 seconds - beating a young OJ Simpson in the process. The record stood until 1972.
He was born Walter Menzies Campbell on 22 May 1941 and was brought up in a Glasgow tenement.
His father was a joiner and, though he rose to become general manager of the city's building department, the family stayed in the same Kelvinbridge flat. Campbell was a sports-obsessed youngster at Hillhead High School and showed an early talent for running.
At Glasgow University, where he studied law, he became life-long friends with two future Labour stars - John Smith and Donald Dewar.