Silks lead in Catholic honours

BRITAIN'S FIRST black QC, Dominican-born Patricia Scotland, was given a life peerage at the weekend, writes Andrew M Brown.
A devout Catholic who is married to a Protestant Ulsterman, Ms Scotland was educated at a comprehensive school in Walthamstow. She has a reputation as a talented advocate.
Helena Kennedy QC was also honoured, as was James Gordon, a Scottish media magnate. He is a former columnist on the Herald's sister paper, the Scottish Catholic Observer.
The television cook and devout Catholic Delia Smith declined to say at the weekend whether or not she had turned down a peerage. Her name was thought by Westminster insiders to have been on Labour's list of "working peers".