ARCHITECT OF MODERN SCOTLAND

Tributes after first deputy FM dies at 71

- BY KATRINE BUSSEY

SCOTTISH political giant Jim Wallace has died after suffering complications as a result of surgery, his family said last night.

Lord Wallace, 71, who served as Holyrood’s first-ever deputy first minister, was undergoing what has been described as a scheduled but major procedure at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh yesterday. However, he died as a result.

His wife Rosie said: “The family are very shocked by Jim's death.

“It was all so sudden. He was incredibly active in a whole host of areas.”

She added: “Jim was still going up and down to London and participating fully in the House of Lords.

“He was singing in the Dunblane Cathedral choir over the festive period and he was so looking forward to spending even more time with his grandchildren.”

She said it “brings some comfort” he had been “surrounded by those he loved most when he died”.