William Macpherson (judge)
Sir William Alan Macpherson of Cluny, 6th of Blairgowrie (1 April 1926 – 14 February 2021) was a judge of the High Court of England and Wales, and the 27th Hereditary Chief of Clan Macpherson. He was a common law barrister who served as the recorder of the Crown Court, a judge at the Queen's Bench, and the presiding judge of the Northern Circuit, before his retirement in 1996. In the late 1990s, Macpherson led the public inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence. His report at the end of the enquiry in 1999 was considered groundbreaking and described as one of the most significant moments in the history of British criminal justice. He had also served as the commanding officer and later as an honorary colonel of the 21st Special Air Service Regiment of the British Territorial Army, and had been the president of the Highland Society of London and the London Scottish Rugby Football Club. Early life Macpherson was born in Blairgowrie, Perth and Kinross, on 1 April 1926. He was the only son of Brigadier Alan David Macpherson of Cluny Macpherson, DSO, MC, 5th of Blairgowrie, 26th Hereditary Chief of Macpherson, and Catharine Richardson Hill. Macpherson was educated at Summer Fields School, Wellington College, where he played rugby, and Trinity College, Oxford. He studied philosophy, politics and economics, before going on to study law. From 1944 to 1947, he served as a captain in the Scots Guards, an infantry regiment of the British Army. He was a member of the 21st Special Air Service Regiment of the British Territorial Army. During his time there he was deployed in Denmark, France, and Norway. He went on to be the commanding officer of the regiment between 1962 and 1965, and served as an honorary colonel between 1983 and 1991. Career Macpherson started his law career, when he was called to the bar in 1952 by the Inner Temple. He went on to practise as a common law barrister. He was appointed the recorder of the Crown Court in 1972 and was appointed to the Queen's Bench, as a judge in the High Court of England and Wales in 1983. He was knighted in the same year. He was the presiding judge of the Northern Circuit between 1984 and 1988. He retired in 1996. Through his legal career, Macpherson was involved in numerous important cases, including the 1993 trial at Old Bailey acquitting three ex-detectives of lying over evidence against Patrick Armstrong, a member of the Guilford Four, and also the case that resulted in the conviction of the serial killer Robert Black in 1994. He also presided over the case which resulted in paying of damages to British journalist Kate Adie over allegations of sympathetic coverage toward Colonel Gadaffi as a part of her coverage of the 1986 United States bombing of Libya. Some of his other cases that resulted in damages payout included singer Dusty Springfield over a television sketch portraying her drunk performance, and another to British