Viscount Craigavon, Janric Craig, grandson of first Northern Ireland Prime Minister James Craig: Humanists UK pay tribute to champion of athiest and humanist values

Humanists UK have paid tribute to Viscount Craigavon, Janric Fraser Craig, the grandson of former UUP leader James Craig, who has passed away at 80 years of age.

A crossbench peer, he was born in 1944 and was educated at Eton College and the University of London.

Qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1969, in 1974 he succeeded to his father's title and entered the House of Lords.

Humanists UK said it was "saddened" to learn of his death, noting that he was a long-standing member of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG) and a patron of Humanists UK.

It noted that he was a vocal supporter of assisted dying for the terminally ill and highlighted what it saw as some of his key contributions to parliamentary debates.

In a 2014 debate concerning the Director of Public Prosecutions’ guidelines on assisted suicide, he stated, "for me, it is a continuing matter of shame that our fellow countrymen and women still have to go to Switzerland to avail themselves of what should be possible in this country".

He frequently highlighted what he saw as significant public support for law change in this area and contrasting this with what he saw as the lack of political will and opposition from religious figures in Parliament.

In a 2013 House of Lords debate celebrating the contribution of atheists and humanists to society, he spoke of the APPHG’s history and its support from Humanists UK, praising its role and work on legal recognition of humanist marriages.

He reflected on the shift from "previous certainties to what I would call constructive uncertainties" and advocated for the questioning of religious beliefs and the challenging of religious discrimination, citing the Census data showing a rise of the non-religious.

He concluded his speech expressing the hope that "the atheist and the humanist movements will continue to challenge constructively some of the foundations of the orthodoxies we have inherited".

Humanists UK Chief Executive Andrew Copson said: "We are all deeply saddened by the news that Janric Craig has died, a stalwart of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group and active member of Humanists UK.

"In recent years he was supportive of the campaign for assisted dying in particular and he showed his personal support for Paul Lamb and other assisted dying campaigners over the years. I know he would have relished his opportunity to debate the Assisted Dying Bill that’s moving through Parliament at the moment, and it's a great sadness he didn't get to see it passed before he died."

He also served as an adviser and former trustee of the Progress Educational Trust (PET), a charity which improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

PET Director Sarah Norcross said the trust is "deeply saddened" to hear of his death, noting he was a founding trustee of the charity back in 1992 and continued to play an active role as an advisor.

"Viscount Craigavon had a longstanding interest in assisted reproduction and embryo research, and he was a strong advocate for reproductive choice," she said. "He will be much missed for his valuable parliamentary work on these issues."