Capital's 'human shield' dies

AN ANTI-WAR protester who became a "human shield" in her efforts to oppose the bombing of Iraq has died at her home in the Capital.

Annette Lamont's family today spoke of their devastation after the mother-of-three died of a heart attack at her home in Joppa on Friday, aged just 53.

The former Lothian regional councillor hit the headlines when she became one of the last Scottish civilians left in Iraq in 2003.

She refused to leave the small village of Taji, near Baghdad, for three months during the war.

The committed campaigner was also passionate about local politics and led campaigns against cuts to children's services and social care in Edinburgh.

The sister of Aberdeen Central Labour MP Frank Doran, she ran MSP Malcolm Chisholm's office for 16 years.

Her sister Lynn Fulton today paid tribute and said: "She's always been a very active person. We were very much a campaigning family.

"She was so upset and incensed about going to war in Iraq. We went on all the marches, but she began to realise they were futile. She just felt she had to do something. It was very brave. It certainly had a marked effect on the rest of her life. We were very supportive of her.

"I think she was the only Scot left there. A lot of human shields left when the attacks were due to take place.

"She was one of the few who stayed in Iraq. She cared deeply about the people there."

On her return, Mrs Lamont exhibited hard-hitting photographs of the results of the war, and spoke about its effect on the Iraqi community.

Mrs Fulton said: "She made it her business to get to know her community and became accepted, particularly by the Iraqi women. She shared all the terror and fear. She felt strongly that people in Scotland needed to know about the plight of the Iraqi people. She went back to Taji in 2004 and was welcomed with open arms. But by then it was a much more frightening and dangerous place."

Mrs Lamont was brought up in Muirhouse and Drylaw, and was a pupil at Craigroyston High School. She began campaigning against cuts in nursery services in the 1980s. She became a founder member of CARE, the Campaign against Reducing Expenditure, a group fighting cuts in funding.

She was elected first Labour councillor for Broughton/Inverleith, serving four years on the then Lothian Regional Council.

She began working for Mr Chisholm in 1992, when he was elected MP for Leith. She continued to run his constituency office when he became MSP for Edinburgh North and Leith.

Mrs Fulton said her sister had been diagnosed with a heart problem in September and suffered a heart attack. The family were still coming to terms with her death.

"She had just had her first granddaughter, Tru, and was a devoted grandmother."

Malcolm Chisholm paid tribute and said: "It was shocking news for us all. She was incredibly committed, hard-working and had very good political judgment. She was involved in many campaigns. I was very proud of her when she went to Iraq."

Mrs Lamont, who was divorced, leaves three children, Jamie, Jenny and David. Her funeral will be at Seafield on Thursday.