Funeral of former deputy first minister Lord Wallace to take place

The funeral of former deputy first minister Lord Jim Wallace will take place in Orkney on Tuesday.

A funeral service will take place at St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, on his adopted island home

Lord Wallace died at the end of January after suffering complications from surgery.

Flags were lowered to half mast at the Scottish Parliament and tributes were paid from across the political spectrum.

Lord Wallace was also a former moderator of the Church of Scotland’s general assembly.

The former Scottish Liberal Democrat leader was Scotland’s first deputy first minister, after devolution. He was also first minister on three occasions.

The funeral service on Tuesday will be conducted by Rev Dr Marjory Maclean.

Paying tribute to Lord Wallace at Holyrood earlier this month, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “We are all the poorer now he has gone, but this Parliament and this country are immeasurably richer because he lived.”

He added: “Jim is celebrated for his ability to lay aside political tribalism and to reach for the better nature of his adversaries.

“There is such rancour in our politics today we could all learn something about his approach and lean into his legacy about his way of doing politics through grace and reconciliation.”

First Minister John Swinney also paid tribute to Lord Wallace during the special session in Holyrood, saying: “In this Parliament’s early years, when it was yet to prove itself in the eyes of many Scots, Jim sought to ensure that it delivered what people had voted for in 1997, a Parliament that worked together, across parties, to get things done and to improve life for all Scots.”