Michael Ancram, former Conservative Party deputy leader and Freeman of the City of Gibraltar, dies aged 79

The former deputy leader of the Conservative Party and Freeman of the City of Gibraltar, Michael Ancram, has died at the age of 79.

Mr Ancram, known formally as the 13th Marquess of Lothian, held the party role under Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard for five years in the early 2000s.

He also served as shadow Foreign Secretary and had been a member of the House of Lords since 2010, in a political career spanning five decades.

He died in hospital surrounded by family in the early hours of Tuesday following a short illness, his family said in a statement.

Mr Ancram was conferred with the Honorary Freedom of the City of Gibraltar by the Gibraltar Parliament in 2010, in recognition of his support for Gibraltar throughout his parliamentary career having raised Gibraltar issues in the UK Parliament on many occasions.

During the joint sovereignty proposal by the then Labour Government, Mr Ancram championed Gibraltar’s cause, instigating many debates in the UK Parliament and supporting the efforts of the then Chief Minister, Sir Peter Caruana, and the people of Gibraltar throughout that period.

At one point Mr Ancram, accompanied by Michael Howard, broke off their holidays and flew by private plane from Greece to Gibraltar to demonstrate solidarity with the Government and people of Gibraltar during the 2001 National Day celebrations.

He also organised an opportunity for Sir Peter to brief the plenary session of the Conservative Party’s annual conference during this period.

Mr Ancram was first elected as an MP for Berwickshire and East Lothian in 1974 but lost his seat in a snap election eight months later.

He returned to Parliament after defeating future Labour prime minister Gordon Brown for the Edinburgh South constituency five years later, before going on to serve as MP for Devizes from 1992 to 2010.

On retiring from the House of Commons, Mr Ancram joined the House of Lords in November 2010 by virtue of a life peerage, Baron Kerr of Monteviot.