Overview

• Reid died in the early hours of 12 August at Strathcarron Hospice, close to his birthplace in Tullibody.
• He had been diagnosed with metastatic kidney cancer in late June after previously undergoing successful surgery for bladder cancer.
• Flags were lowered at the Scottish Parliament and senior figures including First Minister John Swinney and Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone paid tribute.
• As presiding officer from 2003 to 2007, he oversaw the completion of the controversial Holyrood building and helped cement the parliament’s role.
• Earlier in his career he produced the BBC’s 1984 Ethiopian famine broadcasts that spurred Band Aid and Live Aid and later led public affairs for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent.