Richard Ferguson (barrister)

Richard (Dick) Ferguson QC, SC (22 August 1935 – 26 July 2009)[1] was a Northern Irish barrister and Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician.

Born in Derrygonnelly, County Fermanagh, the son of a sergeant in the Royal Ulster Constabulary, Ferguson attended Rainey Endowed School and Methodist College.

[2] Although he rapidly established a reputation as one of the jurisdiction's ablest young advocates, in 1968 Ferguson was elected to the Parliament of Northern Ireland for the Ulster Unionist Party, representing South Antrim.

[2] He was defence counsel in many high-profile cases, such as those of mass-murderers Rosemary West and Patrick Magee, and successfully defended two British soldiers accused of war crimes in Iraq.

[1] In an obituary it was noted that he represented "property tycoon Nicholas Van Hoogstraten, Richard Branson of Virgin, Afghan airplane hijackers, the Birmingham Six, Guinness boss Ernest Saunders and boxer Terry Marsh....he regretted, he once said, not having the chance to defend Michael Jackson.