[1] He was educated at Kirkcaldy High School and graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Master of Arts in economic history.

He was the party's parliamentary candidate for Ross, Cromarty and Skye in the 1983 general election, but lost to Charles Kennedy.

[4] Peers are required to swear or affirm the oath of allegiance to the new monarch and cannot sit or vote in the House of Lords until they have done so.

[9] He was the third Westminster parliamentarian, after Chris Smith and Alan Haworth, to have climbed all the Munros, the Scottish 3000 ft hills.

He completed his round of the 284 peaks with an ascent of Beinn Sgritheall on 9 June 2007 and was no.3897 in the Scottish Mountaineering Club's list of Munroists.