MACKAY OF CLASHFERN, Rt Hon Baron KT (1927 - 2026)
Henry W
My Lords, I regret to inform the House of the death of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Mackay of Clashfern, on 7 July. There will be an opportunity for the House to pay tribute to Lord Mackay in due course. On behalf of the House, I extend our condolences to the noble and learned Lord’s family and friends.
Richard R
Obit in the Times of 8 July 2026:
E X T R A C T
Lord Mackay of Clashfern obituary: lord chancellor
Colossus who smashed the legal profession’s restrictive practices and was behind ‘no fault’ divorce law reform dies aged 99
In his ten years as lord chancellor, Lord Mackay of Clashfern incurred the enduring displeasure of judges, barristers and solicitors alike through his sustained assault upon a legal profession wedded to traditional, outmoded restrictive practices. Widely acknowledged as a colossus among postwar lord chancellors, he was also denounced by many lawyers as the government’s hatchet man and was subjected to the worst personal abuse directed at a lord chancellor for many years.
…Mild-mannered, charming and considerate, Mackay nevertheless remained universally liked. Even when faced with outright hostility, he never lost his dignity or forgot his impeccable manners. As Bernard Levin wrote in The Times after interviewing him in 1991, “So overpowering is his charm that, within the first few minutes, the interviewer is feeling that it would be perfectly delightful to be condemned by such a man to be hanged.”
The only son of a railway porter and signalman, James Peter Hymers Mackay was born in Edinburgh in 1927. After winning a bursary, he excelled in his studies at George Heriot’s School, but showed no interest in sport. He then read mathematics and natural philosophy at Edinburgh University and mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge, obtaining first-class honours on both occasions. Even though he had taught mathematics at St Andrews University as part of his National Service, he chose not to pursue an academic career and turned instead to the law. At the age of 28, he took a law degree at Edinburgh University and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates. In 1958 he married Elizabeth Hymers, known as “Bett”, who survives him, along with their son, James, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Shona.
…In 1963 he was a junior advocate in the divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, which became known as “the headless man” case because of the compromising photographs of the duchess engaged in sexual acts. He told The Times in 2022 how evidence of “this gentleman’s nether regions” played out. “A urologist expert witness was brought in,” he said, “to say that the hairs were not the same sort of configuration as the hairs on the duke.”
…Because Mackay had never shown any allegiance to a political party, his appointment in 1979 as lord advocate (the Scottish equivalent of the attorney-general) took almost everyone by surprise. Nicholas Fairbairn QC had been tipped for the post, but his colourful private life had not go down well with the Scottish judiciary. Mackay had been recommended to Margaret Thatcher, whom he was yet to meet, by Norman Tebbit, who had consulted Mackay on trades union legal reforms.
…After standing down as lord advocate in 1984, Mackay served for a year as a judge in Scotland, before being appointed to the House of Lords. He became lord chancellor in 1987, when Lord Havers was forced to retire through ill health after just four months in the role. After being summoned to Thatcher, Mackay insisted on ringing his wife. “You know better than I, prime minister, that these things affect your family. So I would like to ask my wife,” he said. “Oh certainly, she said — here’s a telephone.” In the event, Bett was not at home, but by the end of the day he had accepted the offer. “We’re absolutely delighted and it’ll be on the news at 7 o’clock,” the prime minister told him.
…In 2007 the Queen appointed him to the office of Lord Clerk Register, replacing David Charteris, from which he retired in 2022, the same year he retired from the Lords.
Lord Mackay of Clashfern, lord chancellor 1987-97, was born on July 2, 1927. He died on July 7, 2026, aged 99
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/lord-mackay-of-clashfern-obituary-death-jx6fskdzqRichard R
Hon Elizabeth Janet, b 1961: m 1982, James CAMPBELL and has issue living, James Peter CAMPBELL b 1984, ___ Michael MacEwan CAMPBELL b 1986: m 2022 (DPB online) Amy Elizabeth MACDONALD and has issue Skylar Linda J b 2022, ___ Emma Elizabeth CAMPBELL b 1988: m 2019 Michael Andrew JONES and has issue Sofia Katie JONES b 2023, ___ Rebecca Ruth CAMPBELL b 1993: m 2016 Struan Peter MACDONALD and has issue Struan John MACDONALD b 2022, Lara Anne MACDONALD b 2023, ___ Sara Joanna CAMPBELL b (twin) 1993: m 2023 Jason James King O’BRIEN.
Hon Shona Ruth b 1968: m 2023 (DPB onliine) Charlotte Eliza PICKUP.