Tory Lord Kingsland dies aged 67

Lord Kingsland was an MEP for 15 years before becoming a peer

Lord Kingsland, Conservative legal affairs spokesman and a former shadow lord chancellor, has died aged 67.

Christopher Prout was the MEP for Shropshire and Stafford for 15 years, before being made a life peer in 1994, and was also a deputy High Court judge.

He died on Sunday after a long illness, the Conservatives said.

Opposition leader David Cameron said: "His formidable experience and immense diligence made him an exceptionally powerful and effective spokesman."

He said he had been "very shocked and saddened" to hear of the peer's death, saying he had given a "lifetime of service to the Conservative Party and the law".

'Deep shock'

He added: "His understated manner and his gentle courtesy won him great respect and affection. I and my colleagues send our sympathy to his wife Carolyn and his friends. He will be truly missed."

The peer had been an MEP for 15 years and led the Tory group in the European Parliament for seven. A former Territorial Army major, he was shadow lord chancellor from 1997 to 2008 before becoming legal affairs spokesman.

In March 2007 he led efforts in the Lords to kill off plans to restrict trial by jury in complex fraud cases, arguing it had been a central part of all serious criminal trials for 700 years.

This house has lost one of its most warmly and widely regarded members Lords leader Baroness Royall

Justice Secretary Jack Straw expressed his "deep shock and sorrow" in the Commons, adding: "Everybody who dealt with him found him utterly delightful, courteous, firm in his opinions but ready to concede others have opinions."

On Monday, members of the House of Lords from across the political spectrum paid their own tributes.

Conservative leader in the Lords, Lord Strathclyde said he was "one of our leading peers, who had an incredible generosity of spirit that belied a razor-sharp mind, and an unfailing sense of justice and integrity."

Lords leader Baroness Royall said: "This house has lost one of its most warmly and widely regarded members."

She also praised his "forensic skills in analysing and debating legislation", adding that he was "a decent man, a fair man, a good man".

The leader of the Liberal Democrat peers, Lord McNally, said that Lord Kingsland's death meant the "loss of a very decent man and a good friend to all of us".