1. Sir Thomas Dalyell, 11th Baronet, known as Tam Dalyell, was a Scottish politician who served as Member of Parliament for Linlithgow from 1962 to 2005.
26 Facts About Tam Dalyell
1. 2.
Tam Dalyell was known for his anti-war views, opposing the Falklands War, the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War.
3.
Loch took his wife's surname in 1938, and through his mother Tam Dalyell inherited the baronetcy of Tam Dalyell, but he never used the title.
4.
Tam Dalyell was educated at the Edinburgh Academy and Eton College.
5.
Tam Dalyell did his national service with the Royal Scots Greys from 1950 to 1952, as an ordinary trooper, after failing his officer training.
6.
Tam Dalyell then went to King's College, Cambridge, to study mathematics, but switched to history.
7.
Tam Dalyell became chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association and vice-president of the Cambridge Union Society.
8.
Tam Dalyell then trained as a teacher at Moray House College in Edinburgh and taught at Bo'ness Academy for three years, and was Director of Studies on the ship school Dunera from 1961 to 1962.
9.
In 1969 Tam Dalyell became a columnist for New Scientist magazine, contributing Westminster Scene until his retirement in 2005.
10.
Tam Dalyell joined the Labour Party in 1956, following the Suez Crisis.
11.
Tam Dalyell became Father of the House after the 2001 general election, when Former Prime Minister Edward Heath retired from the House of Commons.
12.
Tam Dalyell was a nominated Member of the European Parliament from 1975 to 1979, and a member of the Labour National Executive from 1986 to 1987 representing the Campaign group.
13.
Tam Dalyell was opposed to Scottish devolution and was the first to come up with the "West Lothian question", although it was actually named by Conservative MP Enoch Powell.
14.
The Lord Advocate rejected Tam Dalyell's plea, saying that the Home Office and the English courts had jurisdiction over the demand of the US government's extradition demand regarding Coleman, and that the Crown Office and the Scottish Office had no authority over the case.
15.
Tam Dalyell was vocal in his disapproval of actions he deemed imperialistic.
16.
Tam Dalyell was a supporter of the Chagossians in their campaign to return to Diego Garcia after being expelled in 1968.
17.
Tam Dalyell was a strong presence in Parliament concerning Libya and led no fewer than 17 adjournment debates on the Lockerbie bombing, in which he repeatedly demanded answers by the Government to the reports of Hans Kochler, United Nations observer at the Lockerbie trial.
18.
Tam Dalyell specifically named Lord Levy, who was Blair's official representative in the Middle East, and Labour politicians Peter Mandelson and Jack Straw.
19.
In March 2003, regarding the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Tam Dalyell accused Blair of being a war criminal.
20.
Tam Dalyell stated that "since Mr Blair is going ahead with his support for a US attack without unambiguous UN authorisation, he should be branded as a war criminal and sent to The Hague".
21.
On 7 March 2003, Tam Dalyell was elected as Rector of the University of Edinburgh.
22.
Tam Dalyell had been Scotland's longest-serving MP since the resignation of Bruce Millan in 1988.
23.
Tam Dalyell was succeeded as Father of the House by Alan Williams.
24.
Tam Dalyell was given an honorary doctorate by Heriot-Watt University in 2011.
25.
Tam Dalyell married Kathleen Wheatley, a teacher, on 26 December 1963; she was the elder daughter of John Wheatley, Lord Advocate and Labour MP for East Edinburgh.
26.
Tam Dalyell died at the House of the Binns on 26 January 2017, at the age of 84, following a brief, undisclosed illness.