Lord Mackay of Drumadoon.
He spent several years as Advocate Depute, prosecuting in High Court criminal trials. Then he started what was to become a highly successful practice in public inquiry work. He appeared for Orkney Islands Council in the 1991 Child Abuse Inquiry. He also sat on the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board for more than five years at this time before being named Solicitor General in 1995, then Lord Advocate a few months later, serving in that position until 1997.
Once on the bench he was encouraging to young advocates setting out in the courts. It did not prevent him quickly upbraiding defence counsel who wandered down blind alleys or wasted jurors’ time and his.