Many years ago, Lord Mackay of Clashfern, who died on 7 July, aged 99, was kind enough to invite me for tea at the Palace of Westminster. This was not through any merit or distinction on my part. At the time, I was working as a young assistant minister at a church in East London.
In the small youth group that my wife and I ran at the time, there was a teenage boy who was distinctive among his secular peers in the area not only for being a Christian but also, in the ultimate act of rebellion, for being a young Conservative! (This was in an area where even the vicar put up Vote Labour posters!)
I thought it might encourage the young man both in his Christian faith and in his embryonic political career to meet with a committed Christian in a senior political position. After I sent a brief letter, Lord Mackay was kind enough to invite us both up to London for afternoon tea. It seems to have been typical of the man. For ten years he was Lord Chancellor, and he combined this with a noted humility, kindness and graciousness based on his devout evangelical Christian faith. As The Times newspaper put it, despite various controversies engendered in his legal work, he was always “mild-mannered, charming and considerate, [and] remained universally liked”.
