High & mighty

THE Tories' big new signing - 7ft 2in James McAlpine - is hoping to be a giant of politics, as the Daily Star revealed yesterday. The student, 22, is thought to be the tallest Conservative in Britain. But how does he compare to history's tallest world leaders? MEG JORSH looks at the lanky legislators who went straight to the top...

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Still one of the tallest rulers on record, Sancho VII of Navarre, in northern Spain, was even bigger than James at a colossal 7ft 4in. He was nicknamed Sancho the Strong. He ruled from 1194 until his death aged 79 in 1234.

TOP HEIGHT

Abraham Lincoln was 6ft 4in, making him the tallest US president. The Republican, in power from 1861 until his 1865 assassination, was fond of wearing a top hat that brought his total height to 6ft 11in. Some historians believe his gangly frame was caused by the genetic condition Marfan syndrome.

BRAVEHEIGHT