HL Deb 30 January 1967 vol 279 cc747-54

2.35 p.m.

THE LORD PRIVY SEAL (THE EARL OF LONGFORD)

My Lords, it is with a heavy heart that I rise, as Leader of your Lordships' House, to pay tribute to Lord Kilmuir, whose death on Saturday will, I am sure, have come as a grievous personal shock to many of your Lordships in all parts of the House. Some of you may recall words which were used by my noble friend the late Lord Alexander of Hillsborough, when Lord Kilmuir ceased to be Lord Chancellor, and which I can hardly better at this point. To us". said Lord Alexander of Hillsborough, referring to Lord Kilmuir, he was a most extraordinary example of courtesy, of untold patience, and of a thoroughness that was begotten entirely out of his conscientiousness towards his work in this House. That we shall always treasure in his memory. Certainly, we shall all wish to echo those words to-day.

Lord Kilmuir was, by any reckoning, one of the most eminent of all those who have sat in your Lordships' House in recent years. He had indeed an outstanding record of service to his country, to his Party and to this House. As he himself has told us, the fascination of the world of politics had attracted him when he was at Balliol immediately after the first war. Without any influence, either in politics or in the law, he embraced the career of politics and that of the law with deep conviction and prodigious effort. At the exceptionally early age of 33 he was a Q.C., and at 34 a Member of the House of Commons. Then came war service, and in 1942 he was appointed Solicitor General in the Coalition Government, and later Attorney General in the Caretaker Government of May, 1945.

When Sir Winston Churchill formed his Government in 1951, Sir David Maxwell Fyfe was among the first to join the new Cabinet, in the exacting position of Home Secretary. His service as a member of Sir Winston Churchill's team, first as Home Secretary and then as Lord Chancellor, was always a matter of deep pride to Lord Kilmuir. With the romanticism of his rice, and with a very real humbleness of heart, nothing gave him greater satisfaction than the knowledge that he had been entrusted with these high Offices of State by the greatest of living Englishmen. We are all well aware that he did not fail in any of those trusts confided to him.

Lord Kilmuir brought to the business of State and to the rigours of political life qualities which quickly became apparent to all of us here in this House. He was the personification of utter integrity, deep sincerity, fair-mindedness and conscientious application to every job he had to do. His great abilities and his extraordinary powers of memory enabled him to succeed in a wide range of tasks far beyond the capabilities of most of us. His deep attachment to his Party and to his political principles never waivered for one instant.

But his service to this House was as remarkable as any feature of his entire life. I suppose there was never a Minister in the history of this House—at least, I should be surprised to find one—who took quite so much trouble as he took to answer every point of any substance in any speech made; and those of us who served those years in Opposition will recall that some of the points raised did not always warrant the full attention which he thought it right to adminster; but we were deeply grateful, all the same. He was a great institution in your Lordships' House, and for that, and for so many other things, we cherish his memory.

Since he left high office in 1962 many would have thought that he was entitled to a life of ease and comfort. Instead, he chose a new career, entering commerce and becoming chairman of one of our great industrial organisations. In spite of ill-health in recent years, he carried on with much courage as a Member of this House, attending the debates regularly and making contributions which were, as always, governed by his passionate convictions. Now his voice is silent. But we shall remember Lord Kilmuir always with deep admiration and affection, and we send to his wife and family our most profound condolences. My Lords, I felt it right to offer these few words in the spirit of your Lordships' recollection.

2.42 p.m.

LORD CARRINGTON

My Lords, as the noble Earl the Leader of the House has said, it will have come as a great shock to all your Lordships, as it did to me, to learn of the news of Lord Kilmuir's death, for it was only the other day that he was here in this House, sitting in his usual place below the gangway. I should like at the outset to associate those who sit on these Benches with the very moving tribute which has been paid to him by the Leader of the House.

This is not the occasion upon which to make an assessment of Lord Kilmuir's contribution to his country, to the law, to this House or to his Party. The details of his lifetime of distinguished service are well known, and it will be for later generations to decide on the influence which he exerted in the many high Offices of State which he held. Today it seems to me more fitting that we should pay him tribute and mourn the loss of a personal friend, for there can be very few Members of this House to whom Lord Kilmuir was not a personal friend.

For six years he sat on the Woolsack, and carried out the duties of Lord Chancellor with skill, with diligence and with dignity. It always seemed to me very curious that when Lord Kilmuir was dressed in his robes and in his wig he appeared to become a rather severe and forbidding figure. Nothing could have been more misleading. He was the kindest, gentlest and the most generous of men. Nothing was too much trouble. However hard he was worked, he always had the time and, more important, the will to do more. As the noble Earl the Leader of the House has said, he used to sit on the Woolsack during our sometimes very lengthy debates and seemed to be interested in, and to be listening to, speech after speech; and at the end of the debate it turned out that he had in- deed been listening. For when he came to reply for the Government, he always managed to mention something in the speech of every noble Lord in any quarter of the House who had spoken in the debate. It was not only a remarkable feat, both physical and mental, but typical of the courtesy and the immense trouble which he took over anything to do with your Lordships' House.

His death is a particularly sad occasion for those of us who were his junior colleagues in the Government of which he was Lord Chancellor. We all knew that if we ever wanted advice or help he was there to give it to us; and give it he did, unsparingly and unselfishly. He was indeed our friend and our colleague, and we send our deep sympathy to Lady Kilmuir and his family.

2.45 p.m.

LORD OGMORE

My Lords, on behalf of my noble friends on the Liberal Benches and myself, I should like to say that we wish to associate ourselves with what has been said so movingly both by the Leader of the House and by the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, for the Conservative Opposition. We on these Benches always found Lord Kilmuir a very warm and human person: he was always ready to help us in every way that we desired. We shall miss him very much, not only in this House but outside.

I have one particular memory of him, and it corresponds with what Lord Carrington has said. Lord Kilmuir represented Her Majesty's Government at the Malayan independence celebrations at Kuala Lumpur in 1957, at which I also had the honour to be present. In spite of the fact that there were many Royalties and potentates present, nobody there looked as dignified and as important as Lord Kilmuir, in the full dress of a Lord Chancellor. In some extraordinary way—I do not know how he managed it—even on the Equator he looked not only dignified, but cool. I came into contact with him to some extent when he was Secretary of State or, as the office was then called, Minister of State for Welsh Affairs, and I assure your Lordships that he was very well regarded in Wales and was much liked by the Welsh people. He did what he could for them within the limits of his office, and they even bestowed upon him a nickname, which was a high tribute to him, and one which he much enjoyed. We on these Benches wish to associate ourselves with the expressions of sympathy which have been voiced both to Lady Kilmuir and to her family.

2.48 p.m.

VISCOUNT DILHORNE

My Lords, I should like to add my tribute to those which have been so eloquently expressed by the noble Earl, the Leader of the House, and by the noble Lords, Lord Carrington and Lord Ogmore, and to associate myself with all they have said. My memories of David Kilmuir go back over many years of service together, to the time at the beginning of the war when we worked together in the Judge Advocate General's Office. I recall his coming down to help me fight my first by-election in 1943, when he made a speech of such power and substance that it was almost embarrassing for me to follow him, for I feared the contrast would be such that it would not be to my electoral advantage.

From 1943 to 1954 we were colleagues in the House of Commons, and during those years, both in Opposition and in Government, he did an immense amount of work—indeed he did that throughout his life; far more work than many of us would dare to tackle. During those years up until 1945 when he was in Government he spoke often, and when roused was indeed a formidable debater. I remember, as I am sure do some of your Lordships, an occasion when he was a Law Officer and had to reply to Sir Stafford Cripps, who himself was no mean debater. David Kilmuir, when he came to reply, answered point by point, and most effectively. He was liked and deeply admired by members of his own profession; and not only by them and by members of his Party but also by many members of other political Parties and by the majority of those who got to know him.

It is true to say that he was recognised as a man of the highest principles, a man of great sincerity. His aim throughout the whole of his political life was to do what he could to improve conditions in this country. As Attorney General through the years when he was Lord Chancellor, I naturally saw a great deal of him, and I was glad to hear my noble friend Lord Carrington mention the help and advice he was always ready to give to his colleagues. He was a true friend to me, as he was to many others, and I valued his friendship greatly. Now his great career—and it was a great career—has ended, and we who knew him will long remember him. But our loss is slight compared to that of members of his family. To them I should like to extend our deepest sympathy.

2.50 p.m.

LORD CONESFORD

My Lords, may I add my tribute to a friend of over thirty years? We entered the House of Commons in the same year. It so happened that on the last day of his life as a commoner he came to address a great meeting in my constituency at Norwich. I remember that early in his speech he spoke of the endless adventure of politics—a favourite theme of his. Politics was his profession, and he loved and honoured it. To it he brought the highest standards and an intensity of work that was not equalled, I think, by any of his contemporaries. Many have paid tribute to his qualities. May I mention two which are not, I think, universally known: his devotion to Europe and his love of literature. He gave splendid service to his country, to the law and to his Party. Parliament has lost a great servant. We extend our sincerest symapthy to his widow and his children.

2.51 p.m.

THE LORD CHANCELLOR (LORD GARDINER)

My Lords, I believe that every one of us who had the privilege of knowing Lord Kilmuir will be deeply moved by the tributes paid to him today, and I certainly feel privileged to be allowed to add my own tribute to my eminent predecessor. I think I knew Lord Kilmuir perhaps longer than any of your Lordships who have spoken this afternoon. We were born within 24 hours of one another. In the First World War we went together to the Guards Cadet Battalion. We left together—he to the Scots Guards and I to the Coldstream. I followed him to Oxford. He was an officer of the Oxford Union, I think a year before I was, and we married in the same year. He made his name initially, as your Lordships know, in the North, while I was in the South. We met from time to time in court.

His great knowledge of the law, his prodigious industry and his warm personality made him not only among the most sought-after advocates of his time, but undoubtedly one of the most popular and respected members of the Bar. The Northern Circuit has produced many great figures in the law, and indeed in politics, but I think most would agree that David Maxwell Fyfe was among the really outstanding men. In those days, as afterwards, he was a by-word for hard work. He seemed to have the capacity of two ordinary men; and so it went on throughout his political life, as we have heard testified to this afternoon.

After his service as a Law Officer during the war and in the Caretaker Government, the chances of political life gave him the opportunity of playing a major role in one of the most historic and controversial trials in history; that of the major war criminals at Nuremberg. All those who were concerned, directly or indirectly, with the planning or conduct of those proceedings have paid tribute to the services of David Maxwell Fyfe. He indeed bore the burden of the day, but perhaps the most outstanding feature of his services was his remarkable success in keeping the four Allied teams of prosecuting lawyers as a coherent organisation during all the long months of that famous trial. It could not have been an easy task, for the organisation was composed of lawyers from four different nations schooled in entirely different procedures, and with differing attitudes to the trial process. Behind the scenes he worked like a Trojan to smooth over difficulties and to ensure that justice was done.

It is not for me to speak of his years in Opposition in another place, or perhaps of his tenure of the office of Home Secretary, but as his successor but one on the Woolsack I can claim to know something of the burden he carried, and of the tremendous energies which he put forth in the services of this House and of the Government of which he was a member. One thing which always struck me most about any dealings I had with him was how extraordinarily conscientious he was. He spared no pains and, whether or not one agreed with his conclusion, what one would not doubt was that his conclusion was that which he thought was right. It has been said of him that he never refused any task which he was asked to undertake. Fortunately for him, he began his term as Lord Chancellor at the comparatively early age of 54. Even so, the energy and industry which he applied to his job were truly extraordinary.

I think one of the features of his term of office as Lord Chancellor was the interest which he took in his fellow judges in Commonwealth and foreign countries. He was at immense pains to foster good relations with them, and he was tireless in travelling to all parts of the globe whenever he thought that his presence might be helpful in furthering the spirit of good fellowship among judges and lawyers of all nations.

He was justly proud of his exceptionally long time as Lord Chancellor. Of those Lord Chancellors appointed in this century he had held the appointment the longest. Speaking in your Lordships' House for the legal profession, I am sure that judges and lawyers alike in this country, and in many countries overseas, will greatly mourn his death, and I should like, if I may, to associate myself with the sympathy which has already been expressed in all parts of the House to Lady Kilmuir and his family.

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