TRIBUTES have been paid to Lady Elspeth Campbell, the wife of former Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Menzies Campell.
The party said she had died at the family home in Edinburgh, having just returned from a period of recuperation in hospital.
Alex Cole-Hamilton said Lady Campbell brought “levity and laughter to every room she entered.”
Alistair Carmichael, the party’s longest-serving MP described her as “a lovely, warm, funny, brave and clever woman.”
“A loyal friend and great person to have on your side in good times and bad,” he added.
Wendy Chamberlain, the MP in Sir Menzies’s old North East Fife constituency also paid tribute.
“Elspeth was a kind and generous person, known to and loved by many of us within the Scottish Liberal Democrats in North East Fife and beyond. I will treasure the memory of the time I spent with her both prior to and since my election.
“I know this has come as a shock to many people who knew Elspeth in North East Fife from Ming’s time as MP. She will be sorely missed by many.”
Lady Campbell’s family said a private funeral service with a memorial will be held at a later date.
In a statement, Sir Menzies said: “After more than 50 years of marriage, my bright, beautiful and witty Elspeth has gone. She was my constant political companion, always my encouragement and forever my first line of defence.
“When I had doubts about the leadership of the Liberal Democrats her advice was clear, she said ‘never say never’.
“She was renowned for her hosting of political Sunday lunches, which always lingered long into the evenings.
“Her passion for politics, her support of me and her love of her family will be very much missed.”
Lady Campbell was born in New Delhi, India in 1940, the daughter of Major-General Roy Urquhart, whose exploits with the 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem were portrayed by Sean Connery in the film A Bridge Too Far.
After the war, she and her sisters, Suki and Judy, followed their father around the world, attending schools in Malaya and Austria.
She was later sent to Britain to attend a girls’ convent school in Devon.
Despite achieving the grades for university, her father insisted she go to a finishing school instead.
She later took a first-class degree in English literature at the Open University, studying while working as Sir Menzies’s secretary.
The two met when Lady Campbell was divorcing Canadian-born baronet, Sir Philip Grant-Suttie in 1969.
Her lawyer, the future Tory MP, Sir Nicholas Fairbairn, fixed her up with Sir Menzies, then an up-and-coming advocate.
After her husband replaced Charles Kennedy as party leader, in what had been a brutal contest, she was asked on live television if, like many leader’s wives, she would find his position trying.
“Why?” she replied. “Just think of the fun.”