The former deputy leader of the Conservative party Michael Ancram has died, aged 79, his family has announced. The 13th Marquis of Lothian, as he was formally known, died in hospital after a short illness, surrounded by close family.

After the Conservative defeat in 1997, Ancram became Tory chairman under William Hague and later served as deputy leader under Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard until David Cameron took over in 2005.

ANTI-TRIDENT Tory grandee Michael Ancram has died at the aged 79. A chequered political career took the 13th Marquis of Lothian and hereditary chief of clan Kerr from an eight-month stint as MP for the family pile in Berwickshire and East Lothian between the elections of 1974, on to Edinburgh South in 1979.

The 13th Marquess of Lothian, who has died aged 79, was the first Catholic to become a Scottish Conservative MP; better known as Michael Ancram, he was also one of the architects of peace in Northern Ireland and went on to serve as party chairman under William Hague and deputy leader to Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard.

Michael Ancram, a leading aristocrat who became a Tory MP, senior government minister, party chairman, deputy leader and grandee, has died aged 79

Michael Andrew Foster Jude Kerr was one of the most approachable senior politicians in the Conservative Party.