Conservative peer Lord Scrymgeour charged with drink-driving
A Conservative peer who was a page of honour to the late Queen has been charged with driving while more than double the legal alcohol limit.
The 12th Earl of Dundee appeared in the city’s sheriff court on Monday under the name Alexander Scrymgeour.
He is alleged to have driven a Toyota Hilux truck while under the influence of drink.
The accused, who is Chief of the Clan Scrymgeour, is a sitting member of the House of Lords. In 1999, he was made an elected hereditary peer.
It is alleged that he drove in St Michaels, Fife, on May 12 this year, when his alcohol reading was 50 micrograms. The legal limit in Scotland is 22 micrograms of alcohol in 100 ml of breath.
The 75-year-old, of Birkhill House in the Fife village of Balmerino, did not enter a plea and the case was continued to a case management hearing on July 5.
Educated at Eton
Lord Scrymgeour was educated at Ludgrove School and Eton College, before attending the University of St Andrews.
His first experience as a Conservative politician was as the party’s candidate in a high-profile by-election in 1978 in Hamilton, in which he came third.
He has been a member of the House of Lords since his father’s death in 1983, and served as a Tory whip in the Upper House between 1986 and 1989.
The Earl of Dundee’s farming company manages around 2,000 acres across Fife and Angus. He is an active member of the House of Lords, and has spoken on farming and health issues.
He is also the hereditary Royal standard bearer of Scotland, Constable of Dundee, and chief of the name and arms of Scrymgeour.
The Earl was one of the peers who bore the Royal standards at the 2023 Coronation of King Charles, carrying the Lion Rampant in a ceremonial procession.
His father, the 11th Earl of Dundee, spent a period as deputy leader of the House of Lords.
