The Lord Davidson of Glen Clova | |
---|---|
Shadow Advocate General for Scotland | |
In office 10 October 2010 –17 May 2021 | |
Leader | Ed Miliband Harriet Harman Jeremy Corbyn Sir Keir Starmer |
Succeeded by | The Lord Falconer of Thornton |
Shadow Spokesperson for Scotland | |
In office 4 June 2018 –17 May 2021 | |
Leader | Keir Starmer |
Succeeded by | The Lord Falconer of Thornton |
Advocate General for Scotland | |
In office 21 March 2006 –11 May 2010 | |
Prime Minister | Tony Blair Gordon Brown |
Preceded by | The Baroness Clark of Calton |
Succeeded by | The Lord Wallace of Tankerness |
Solicitor General for Scotland | |
In office 24 February 2000 –28 November 2001 | |
First Minister | Donald Dewar Jim Wallace (Acting) Henry McLeish Jim Wallace (Acting) |
Preceded by | Colin Boyd |
Succeeded by | Elish Angiolini |
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
Assumed office 22 March 2006 Life Peerage | |
Personal details | |
Born | Neil Forbes Davidson 13 September 1950 |
Political party | Labour |
Spouse | Regina Anne Sprissler (m. 1980) |
Alma mater | |
Profession | Advocate |
Website | www.oag.gov.uk |
Neil Forbes Davidson, Baron Davidson of Glen Clova KC (born 13 September 1950) is a Scottish lawyer and former Advocate General for Scotland.
Davidson was born to John and Flora Davidson, [1] and was educated at the University of Stirling (BA), the University of Bradford (MSc) and the University of Edinburgh (LLB, LLM), and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1979. [1] His private practice is in commercial and administrative law. [2]
Davidson was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1979, and appointed Standing Junior Counsel to the Registrar General in 1982, and the Department of Health and Social Security in 1988. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales at the Inner Temple in 1990, and appointed Queen's Counsel in Scotland in 1993. [1] [2] From 1993 to 2000, he was a Director of City Disputes Panel, a private dispute resolution service, and on 24 February 2000 was appointed Solicitor General for Scotland, which office he held until November 2001. [1] He is a member of 11 King's Bench Walk Chambers, founded by former Lord Chancellor Lord Irvine of Lairg.
On 21 March 2006, it was announced that the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, had appointed him to the office of Advocate General for Scotland, [3] which had been vacant since the resignation of Lynda Clark, Baroness Clark of Calton on 18 January that year to take up office as a Senator of the College of Justice. He was created a life peer, as Baron Davidson of Glen Clova, of Glen Clova in Angus, [4] on 22 March, and sits on the Labour benches. Following Labour's defeat in the 2010 general election, Davidson was succeeded in the post by Liberal Democrat Jim Wallace, former Deputy First Minister of Scotland.
Davidson is the co-author of Judicial Review in Scotland (1986). [5] He was the International Commission of Jurists' chef de mission to Egypt on sequestration of the Egyptian Bar in 1998. He was the convener of the Human Rights Committee of the Faculty of Advocates.
In 2005, Davidson was appointed by the UK government to head a review examining the implementation of European Union legislation in the UK. The report – known as the 'Davidson Review' – was issued in 2006 and recommended a series of measures to simplify implementation, including a ban on 'gold-plating'. [6]
In August 2014, Davidson attended the Fourth Forum on Development of Tibet in Lhasa, Tibet as a guest of the Chinese government. [7] Chinese state media reported comments by him praising China's work in Tibet and criticising Western media. [8] The conference organisers published a "Lhasa Consensus" document [9] supporting the position and policy of the Chinese government regarding Tibet. According to the document, it was endorsed by all participants in the forum.
Shortly after, a number of Western participants disassociated themselves from the 'Consensus', stating that they were unaware it would be represented as having their support. [10] Lord Davidson did not respond to Western media enquiries regarding the accuracy of the comments attributed to him and seeking clarification of his position regarding the Lhasa Consensus. [11] [12] His participation, reported comments and subsequent refusal to make further comment were strongly criticised by Free Tibet, [13] [14] who noted that during his visit to Tibet, security forces fired on a demonstration in another region of Tibet, fatally injuring four protesters. [15]
The University of Stirling (Scots: University o Stirlin, Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Shruighlea is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airthrey Castle estate.
Lynda Margaret Clark, Baroness Clark of Calton, known as Lady Clark of Calton, is a Scottish judge. She was formerly the Labour Member of Parliament for Edinburgh Pentlands. She was Advocate General for Scotland from the creation of that position in 1999 until 2006, whereupon she became a Judge of the Court of Session in Scotland.
James Robert Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness, is a Scottish politician serving as a Liberal Democrat life peer in the British House of Lords since 2007 and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 2021 to 2022. He served as the Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 1999 to 2005, and during that time he served twice as acting First Minister, in 2000, in the aftermath of Donald Dewar's death and in 2001, following Henry McLeish's resignation. He was formerly Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 1992 to 2005 and Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords from 2013 to 2016.
James Peter Hymers Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern, is a British lawyer. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, Lord Advocate, and Lord Chancellor (1987–1997). He is a former active member of the House of Lords, where he sat as a Conservative. He retired from the House on 22 July 2022.
His Majesty's Advocate General for Scotland is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, whose duty it is to advise the Crown and His Majesty's Government on Scots law. The Office of the Advocate General for Scotland is a ministerial department of His Majesty's Government. The position is currently held by Lord Stewart of Dirleton.
Peter Lovat Fraser, Baron Fraser of Carmyllie, PC, QC was a Scottish politician and advocate.
Lady Elish Frances Angiolini is a Scottish solicitor. She was the lord advocate of Scotland from 2006 until 2011, having previously been solicitor general since 2001. She was the first woman, the first procurator fiscal, and the first solicitor to hold either post. Since September 2012, Angiolini has been the principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford. She has been a pro-vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford since 2017 and is an Honorary Professor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She also served as Chancellor of University of the West of Scotland from 2013 to 2021. Since leaving office she has led several investigations and inquiries, including a review of deaths in police custody commissioned by the then-Home Secretary Theresa May. In June 2022, she was appointed a Lady of the Order of the Thistle by Queen Elizabeth II; she is currently the only non-royal woman appointed to the order. In June 2023, she was appointed to the office of Lord Clerk Register by King Charles III, the first woman to hold the role since its creation in the 13th century.
John Thomas Wheatley, Baron Wheatley, was a Scottish Labour politician and judge.
Richard Sanderson Keen, Baron Keen of Elie is a British lawyer and Conservative Party politician. He was Advocate General for Scotland from May 2015 until his resignation on 16 September 2020.
Events from the year 2006 in Scotland.
Events from the year 2007 in Scotland.
The School of Law at the University of Glasgow provides undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Law, and awards the degrees of Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws, LLM by Research, Master of Research (MRes) and Doctor of Philosophy, the degree of Doctor of Laws being awarded generally only as an honorary degree.
Events from the year 2009 in Scotland
Events from the year 2010 in Scotland.
Events from the year 2008 in Scotland
Events from the year 2000 in Scotland.
Events from the year 1977 in Scotland.
Events from the year 1951 in Scotland.
Events from the year 1929 in Scotland.
Events from the year 2018 in Scotland.