Menzies Campbell, known to friends as "Ming", has been a prominent critic of Robin Cook's 'ethical foreign policy' following controversy over continuing arms sales to Indonesia. He welcomed the European court's ruling that the MoD's ban on homosexuals is unlawful, calling it a "a triumph for civil liberty". He decided not to stand for the Lib Dem leadership contest despite his status as the party's elder statesman. He was a QC before entering politics and in the 1960s he was a record sprinter, holding the British 100 metres title. He was President of the Union at Glasgow University where he was a friend of John Smith and Donald Dewar, and also studied at Stanford University in California. After four attempts at getting into parliament he won the Fife North East seat in 1987. He sits on the board of the pro-European campaigning group Britain in Europe and is a patron of the independent defence industry think tank, UK Defence Forum. Speculation has been mounting recently that he may be appointed a judge in Scotland's supreme court, or that he may succeed Betty Boothroyd as Speaker of the House of Commons.