Clive Jones

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. I am sure that Ming would have been delighted with the tributes paid to him today by the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey) and many others. Just as importantly, I think Elspeth would have been equally delighted. She would have been raising a glass of champagne in celebration. Ming is remembered as a brilliant and successful athlete and an accomplished, distinguished advocate. He was a real fixture in this House, utterly authoritative on foreign policy and defence matters for more than two decades. Less well remembered is the fact that it took him three elections and a decade to be elected to represent Fife, a seat he then held for 28 years. He was, therefore, sympathetic and hugely supportive of my similarly numerous efforts to win in Wokingham. For all that patrician charm he deployed to win over judges in court, he was also a savvy street campaigner his opponents underestimated at their peril. On one of his many visits to Wokingham, a local journalist asked him why he visited so often. He replied, “I have invested so much in this young man”—it was only 10 years ago!—“that I am determined to see him succeed.” He was delighted when that investment paid off last July. Ming was very generous with his time and his advice. He was a warm and generous friend to me and my family, to many colleagues and to the many, many friends he made in Wokingham along the way. He will be fondly remembered by everybody who knew him well and, by wide agreement, as being probably one of the nicest people to ever lead a political party in the UK.