[2] Born and educated in Cardiff, Morris went on, after national service with the Welsh Regiment, to read English at Worcester College, Oxford.
[3] His major promotion came in 1971 when he began his decade as professor of English literature at Sheffield University, in succession to William Empson.
He also edited the poems of Cleveland and the plays of John Ford, while using his acquired administrative skills on the board of the National Portrait Gallery.
He justified his appointment to the unelected body by pointing out "Manchester United football team isn't chosen by popular vote".
When Morris reminded the Tories of the saying "Whom God wishes to destroy, he first sends mad," he used the original Latin.