Air Vice-Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

Lindsay John Irvine, is a British barrister and former senior

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

officer. He was Director of Legal Services (RAF) and the head of the

RAF Legal Branch The Royal Air Force Legal Branch (RAFLB) or Directorate Legal Services (DLS) - as it is better known - is the uniformed legal service provider for the Royal Air Force. It consists of solicitors and barristers qualified in a Commonwealth jurisd ...

from April 2009 to April 2017.

Early life

Irvine studied Classics at

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. He graduated in 1977 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

(BA) degree, which was later promoted to a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

(MA (Oxon)) degree. He subsequently studied law at

City University London City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

and was called to the bar, thereby becoming a qualified barrister.

Military career

Having completed

officer training A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

RAF College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and ...

, Irvine was commissioned into the Legal Branch,

, on 3 February 1986 as a flight lieutenant. On 21 July 1988, he transferred from a short service commission to a permanent commission. He was promoted to

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...

on 5 November 1989, and to

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

on 5 November 1995. As part of the half yearly promotions, he was promoted to group captain on 1 January 2000, and to air commodore on 1 January 2003. On 9 April 2009, he was promoted to

air vice-marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

and appointed Director of Legal Services (RAF), head of the RAF Legal Branch.

Controversy

Air Vice Marshal Irvine was the subject of criticism for his legal advice provided to the Board of Innquiry in the Mull of Kintyre Chinook helicopter crash in 1994 (see Mull of Kintyre Review page 52 paragraph 4.4.11 - https://web.archive.org/web/20110725050734/http://www.mullofkintyrereview.org.uk/sites/default/files/Mull%20of%20Kintyre%20Review%20Report.pdf). "In our view the legal advice afforded to Air Chief Marshal Day was unclear and inaccurate insofar as it failed to recognise the objective nature of the test, placed no restriction on the power of the higher authority to make a finding different from that made by the Board, and introduced reference to RAF policy. The reference to policy can be interpreted as an assertion that the standard of proof meant what the RAF wanted it to mean. That is manifestly incorrect and in conflict with the intention of paragraph 9. The consequence is that Air Chief Marshal Day and Air Chief Marshal Wratten misdirected themselves in relation to the standard of proof."

Honours and decorations

In the 2014

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

, Irvine was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irvine, Lindsay British barristers Royal Air Force officers Alumni of University College, Oxford Alumni of City, University of London Companions of the Order of the Bath Living people Year of birth missing (living people)