Neil was a hugely respected stalwart of the meat industry, a point strongly endorsed by the fulsome comments I have received in recent days.

Many have said he was always such a supportive and trusted friend. Not only did he build a very successful business in a trade notorious for its meagre profit margins, but he also made a major contribution to meat industry ‘politics’.

Initially this was via SAMW and MLC, of which he was a commissioner (2002-08), then latterly with Scotland Food & Drink. He was also closely involved in the formation of Quality Meat Scotland.

I had the privilege of working with him over many years having first met him in the early 1980s in the auction ring at Bosomworths – when he and Jim Robertson (SAMW president 1987-89) were vying with each other to buy cattle!

We worked closely on the two key crises that hit the industry in the 1990s and 2000s, namely BSE, with both its immediate and long-term impact, and FMD, which was equally devastating for farmers and meat processors.

It was when I became SAMW executive manager during Neil’s presidency (2000-03) that we really developed our working relationship. SAMW’s ability to punch above its weight, becoming a ‘go to’ organisation in the face of many national and international pressures was, in no small measure, due to Neil’s clear, direct and insightful views. He never shied away from stating what needed to be said, a strength which earned the association respect in the corridors of power in Edinburgh, London and Brussels.

Away from the serious side of the industry there were numerous enjoyable lighter moments, of course, often created by Neil’s pawky sense of humour. Following a particularly sticky meeting in Brussels, for example, the SAMW team was ‘regrouping’ over a couple of beers in airport departures when Isla Roebuck and I decided that Neil’s sterling efforts that day were worthy of the title ‘Lord Pathheid’ of that ilk. The award was duly bestowed and recorded on the back of a Leffe Blonde beer mat.

A somewhat greater honour came his way in 2009 when he was awarded an OBE for his ‘distinguished services to the meat industry’. He duly told a local news reporter that he was ‘chuffed to bits’ by the award, a feeling which no doubt also accompanied the FRAgS recognition he was given by his peers in the industry.

I was personally delighted to nominate him as a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Butchers, a body of which he became a staunch supporter and an enthusiastic and popular attendee of court lunches.

He was, in truth, a ‘man o’ pairts’ to whom the industry owes a huge gratitude. He will be sorely missed by all of us.

Our thoughts are with his beloved Lyndsey and hugely cherished daughters Kate, Louise and Carol, son-in-law James, and grandson Max.