The former deputy leader of the Conservative party Michael Ancram has died, aged 79, his family has announced. The 13th Marquis of Lothian, as he was formally known, died in hospital after a short illness, surrounded by close family.

After the Conservative defeat in 1997, Ancram became Tory chairman under William Hague and later served as deputy leader under Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard until David Cameron took over in 2005.

The Marquess of Lothian, the former deputy leader of the Conservative Party, has died aged 79. As Michael Ancram, he served in the governments of both Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

MICHAEL Ancram, a former deputy leader of the Conservative Party, has died at the age of 79, his family said. A family statement said the 13th Marquess of Lothian, as he was formally known, died

ANTI-TRIDENT Tory grandee Michael Ancram has died at the aged 79. A chequered political career took the 13th Marquis of Lothian and hereditary chief of clan Kerr from an eight-month stint as MP for the family pile in Berwickshire and East Lothian between the elections of 1974, on to Edinburgh South in 1979.

Tributes have been paid to the “stable voice” of former deputy leader of the Conservative Party Michael Ancram, who has died aged 79.Mr Ancram, known formally as the 13th Marquess of Lothian, held the role under Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard for five years in the early 2000s.

Michael Ancram, a leading aristocrat who became a Tory MP, senior government minister, party chairman, deputy leader and grandee, has died aged 79

Michael Andrew Foster Jude Kerr was one of the most approachable senior politicians in the Conservative Party.