Ian Hamilton KC

That this House mourns the passing of Ian Hamilton, KC, who has passed away at the age of 97; salutes his long and distinguished career as a member of the Faculty of Advocates and as one of Scotland pre-eminent criminal lawyers; notes his upbringing in Paisley as a the son of a tailor who went on to attend the John Neilson Institution in the town, before being called up for National Service and then to study at the University of Glasgow; celebrates his role in the liberation of the Stone of Scone, also known as the Stone of Destiny, on Christmas Eve 1950; welcomes his landmark achievement alongside Gavin Vernon, Kay Matheson, and Alan Stuart in securing the Stone and returning it to Scotland following its theft by Edward I of England in 1296; notes the work undertaken by monumental mason Bertie Gray of Glasgow following the Stone’s liberation in making repairs to the Stone and making a number of copies of the Stone; acknowledges the return of a stone to Arbroath Abbey on 11th April 1951 from whence it was again taken from Scotland and installed in Westminster Abbey; celebrates Ian Hamilton’s long service in campaigning for Scottish independence and the causes and ideals that were fundamental to him as a human being; and notes that while he will not see Scottish independence that the work he and many others have done over the decades have brought that achievement closer than ever.