We are deeply saddened to hear the news that Derek Ogg QC has died.

Throughout his life Derek was a passionate and principled advocate for equality and justice.

Derek’s activism began in the Scottish Minorities Group (SMG) in the early 1970s. SMG was Scotland’s first gay rights organisation, founded in 1969 – it later became the Scottish Homosexual Rights Group (SHRG), and later still, Outright Scotland. In SMG, Derek was one of the organisers of the first International Gay Rights Congress, held in Edinburgh from 18th to 22nd December 1974. The Congress was attended by 400 people, and led to the setting up of the International Gay Association, which became today’s ILGA World.

As a lawyer, Derek was very much involved in SMG’s legal campaigning, including against employment discrimination, and to decriminalise sex between men, which in the 1970s remained a crime in Scotland. On 22nd July 1980, the House of Commons passed a decriminalisation amendment from Robin Cook MP, and decriminalisation (although with significant restrictions) came into effect on 1st February 1981.

In the 1980s, much of Derek’s activism was focused on AIDS/HIV. In 1983 he founded Scottish Aids Monitor, Scotland’s first and at the time only AIDS charity, and he was also much involved in the establishment of Milestone Hospice and Waverley Care.

While pursuing his highly successful career as an advocate, Derek continued to work for equality, and was an invaluable adviser to the Equality Network, advising on equalising the age of consent and removing other discrimination from the law, to move us close to full legal equality.

In 2015 we were delighted to present Derek with a special award for Lifetime Achievement at the Scottish LGBTI Awards where he received the award to a standing ovation.

Most recently Derek supported our work on the Historical Sexual Offences Act which retroactively pardoned men convicted of sexual offences under obsolete sodomy laws now repealed in Scotland, and recently took part in a BBC Documentary looking back on the impact of the AIDS epidemic in the 80s.

We owe Derek so much and send our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.