Paul McBride: Bright young star who became Scotland’s youngest QC at 35

An only child, he was born on 13 November, 1964, and his parents sent him to the independent Catholic school St Aloysius’ College in Glasgow.

Aged just 16, he was accepted to Strathclyde University and graduated at 19.

Mr McBride served an apprenticeship at Lockharts in Kilmarnock, before joining the bar in 1988, Scotland’s youngest advocate at the age of 23. He became the youngest QC at 35.

In 2005, he was revealed as Scotland’s top legal earner, overtaking Donald Findlay, QC, pulling in £357,600.

He acted in the Moira Jones murder trial and that of Elgin businessman Nat Fraser, and defended Mark Bonini who was convicted of murdering two-year-old Andrew Morton after shooting him with an airgun near Easterhouse.

He represented Tommy Sheridan’s wife, Gail, in the couple’s perjury trial, and acted for the family of former world rally champion Colin McRae at the fatal accident inquiry into his death. In 2006, he suffered a broken nose when he was punched by a convicted rapist inside a cell at the High Court in Glasgow.

Mr McBride had originally planned to do civil work as an advocate, but said he found himself “more by accident than design” on the criminal side.

Politically, Mr McBride had been a member of both Labour and the Conservatives, but resigned from both parties. In 2009, he said Labour had become “serially mendacious and incompetent”, and he could no longer support them.

Just two years later, he resigned from the Conservatives hours after Ruth Davidson was elected leader.

It was perhaps in football, however, where there was a true crossover between the professional and personal. He ran the line in Premier League matches for three seasons.

Later, the Celtic season ticket-holder represented the club and the team’s manager, Neil Lennon, and in December offered to support Hearts players trying to obtain unpaid wages.

Mr McBride lived in Glasgow’s West End with his partner, the interior designer Gary Murphy.