Funeral for SNP 'colossus' held

Professor Sir Neil MacCormick was a committed Nationalist

The funeral of prominent Scottish Nationalist and law expert Professor Sir Neil MacCormick has been held at Greyfriar's Kirk in Edinburgh.

Sir Neil, a former SNP MEP, died from cancer on 6 April at the age of 67.

Described as a "colossus" of the Nationalist movement, he was a regius professor of public law at Edinburgh University for 36 years.

First Minister Alex Salmond was among hundreds of mourners who attended the service.

Finance Secretary John Swinney delivered a eulogy, while former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell, a childhood friend of Sir Neil, also attended.

Mr Salmond said Sir Neil, whose father John was a founding member of the SNP, came from one of Scotland's leading political families and was passionately committed to the party and the cause of Scottish independence.

'Legal genius'

Sir Neil stood as a Westminster parliamentary candidate in five elections between 1979 and 1999, serving as an SNP Euro MP from 1999 to 2004 and as vice president of the SNP during the same period.

He retired from Europe to return to academic work in 2004 and was appointed as a special adviser to Mr Salmond after the 2007 SNP election victory.

He was knighted for his services to scholarship in law, and was a long-standing fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the British Academy.

Sir Neil is survived by his wife Flora and three daughters from a previous marriage.

Paying tribute to Sir Neil, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told BBC Radio Good Morning Scotland: "Neil MacCormick was a colossus within the SNP, a legal genius and a colossus on the European stage.

"He did so much to advance the intellectual case for independence in Europe.

"More than that, he was a wonderful human being and really engaging personality. He will be sadly missed."

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