John Laird, Baron Laird facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Right Honourable Professor The Lord Laird
Member of the House of Lords
In office 16 July 1999 – 10 July 2018
Member of the Northern Ireland Parliament for Belfast St Anne's
In office 12 November 1970 – 31 March 1972
Preceded by	Norman Laird
Succeeded by	Parliament suspended
Personal details
Born	John Dunn Laird 23 April 1944
Died	10 July 2018(2018-07-10) (aged 74) Belfast, Northern Ireland
Nationality	British
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	Ulster Unionist Party (until 2013)
Occupation	Politician
Website	www.lordlaird.co.uk

John Dunn Laird, Baron Laird (born 23 April 1944 – died 10 July 2018) was a politician from Northern Ireland. He was a life peer, which means he was given a special title and a seat in the House of Lords for life. He also used to be in charge of the Ulster-Scots Agency, an organisation that supports the Ulster-Scots culture and language.

In 2013, Lord Laird was accused of offering to use his position to help a company for money, which is against the rules for politicians. Because of this, he left the Ulster Unionist Party.

Early Political Life

In 1970, when John Laird was the leader of the Ulster Young Unionist Council (a group for young people in the Ulster Unionist Party), he became the youngest member of the Parliament of Northern Ireland. He won a special election for the area of Belfast Saint Anne's after his father, Dr. Norman Laird, passed away.

In January 1972, he was removed from his party's group in Parliament. This happened because he voted against his party's wishes on a rule about public parades. He was very popular in elections, winning the most votes in Belfast West in both the 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election and the 1975 Constitutional Convention election.

In 1976, he started his own company called John Laird Public Relations. This company, now known as JPR, is one of the oldest public relations firms still running in Northern Ireland.

Becoming a Lord

On 16 July 1999, John Laird was given the special title of Baron Laird, from a place called Artigarvan in County Tyrone. This made him a life peer, allowing him to sit in the House of Lords for the rest of his life.

Lord Laird went to school at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution.

Supporting Ulster-Scots Culture

Lord Laird strongly believed that Ulster Scots (also known as Ullans) should be recognised as a language. He wanted road signs across Ireland to be in Irish, English, and Ullans. He felt this would show "parity of esteem" (equal respect) for all cultures, as agreed in the Good Friday Agreement. He even suggested renaming the Irish police force, the Garda Síochána, to include an Ulster-Scots name: An Garda Síochána/Hannin Polis.

Lord Laird was the head of the Ulster-Scots Agency, which works to promote Ulster-Scots culture. He left this role in April 2004 because the government cut funding for the agency. In 2005, it was found that he had spent a lot of public money on taxi trips between Belfast and Dublin while he was chairman.

Time in the House of Lords

As a member of the House of Lords, Lord Laird sat as an "independent" peer. This means he did not belong to a specific political party in the House of Lords. He used his "parliamentary privilege" to speak freely in Parliament about the Irish Republican Army (IRA), a political group.

In 2005, he claimed that an advisor to the Irish Prime Minister (called the Taoiseach) was involved with the IRA. Later that year, he said there were many IRA members secretly working in important positions in the Republic of Ireland. In 2007, he again used his privilege to name people he said were senior IRA members responsible for a murder.

Investigation and Suspension

In June 2013, reporters pretended to be from a company and filmed Lord Laird. He seemed to agree to ask questions in Parliament for them in exchange for regular payments. After this was discovered, he left his political party and reported himself to the House of Lords' rules committee.

On 18 December 2013, the committee decided that he had broken the rules. He was suspended from the House of Lords for four months.

Expenses Claimed

In the 2008/09 parliamentary year, Lord Laird claimed £73,000 in expenses. This made him the peer who claimed the most money in the House of Lords during that year.

Planned Election in Donegal

In December 2006, Lord Laird announced that he planned to run in elections in Donegal North-East and Donegal South-West in Ireland. He wanted to highlight what he saw as unfair treatment of the Ulster-Scots movement by the Irish Government. However, he had a mild heart attack and was unable to stand in the election.

Arms

See also

• List of Northern Ireland Members of the House of Lords