Former Lord Chancellor dies

LONDON, England -- Britain's former Lord Chancellor, the Conservative Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone, has died at the age of 94.

His son Douglas Hogg, himself a former Conservative Minister, said in a statement on Sunday that his father had died at home in London on Friday after a long illness.

"He had a very distinguished life. This is the end of a chapter, and it is very sad," he said.

Lord Hailsham served as Lord Chancellor from 1970 to 1974, and again from 1979 to 1987.

Hailsham breezed in and out of Conservative administrations for half a century serving under six prime ministers from Churchill's wartime government to Margaret's Thatcher's first term.

For a succession of Conservative Prime Ministers, he served as a trouble-shooter -- First Lord of the Admiralty in the Suez crisis, Tory party chairman in the morale-shattered aftermath and Britain's representative in the talks that led to the first nuclear test ban treaty in l963.

He also backed Neville Chamberlain's pact with Hitler that the prime minister said would secure "peace in our time" arguing that it had saved Western civilization because "if we'd gone to war in l938, we'd have lost."

Under Thatcher he served a record 12 years in office as Lord Chancellor combining a respect for the traditions of law with a programme of extensive reform aimed at cutting costs and delays.

The current Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine of Lairg, said in a statement: "Throughout his long life, Lord Hailsham transcended politics and the law as no modern Lord Chancellor has done.

"A characterful and combative politician, a powerful intellect, and a strong advocate and judge, his breadth of achievement was remarkable."