Former Isles MP and Deputy First Minister of Scotland, Jim Wallace of Tankerness, has died. He was called to the bar in 1979, practising mainly in civil law cases, and became a QC in 1997. After becoming leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats in 1992, he led the party through the Scottish devolution referendum in 1997, having also been a member of the Scottish Constitutional Convention which created the blueprint for devolution and a Scottish parliament. Isles MP Alistair Carmichael said: “Jim Wallace gave his adult life to serving the people of the Northern Isles, Scotland and the United Kingdom. His sudden and tragic death leaves a huge gap in public life.