SIR CRISPIN Agnew of Lochnaw Bt QC has been announced as president of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland.

The RHASS has also appointed Sir Robert M Clerk Bt OBE, Charles Dudgeon FRICS, Professor Julie Fitzpatrick OBE and Louise Welsh as its 2017/18 vice presidents.

Having just taken up his position in late July, Sir Crispin will preside over the 178th Royal Highland Show in 2018 with his home region of Lothians the ‘host' area. The Society's presidential team, which serves for one year, represents the area where the Royal Highland Show would have been held had it still been moving around Scotland. The show was last held in Edinburgh as a Lothian host area in 1955.

Sir Crispin has been an advocate at the Scottish Bar since 1982 and in 1995 was appointed Queens Counsel. He has developed a specialisation in rural property and agricultural law, which includes agricultural cases for both landlords and tenants.

Sir Robert was a graduate in Agriculture who pursued a career as a land agent with national firm Smiths Gore, where he was a partner from 1980 to 2003. In 1995, he was awarded an OBE for services to the salmon fishing industry.

Mr Dudgeon is head of rural agency in the UK for Savills property consultancy, based out of their Edinburgh office. He is currently Head of the National Estate and Farm Agency team which covers sales, purchases and valuations of all types of rural property across Scotland and the whole of the UK.

Professor Fitzpatrick is scientific director of Moredun Research Institute and the CEO of the Moredun Foundation. She is currently chair of the UK Science Partnership for Animal and Plant Health and, internationally, she chairs the South African Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance. She was awarded an OBE in 2014 for services to livestock research.

Ms Welsh has worked at a high level in the food industry for over 15 years, including five years in senior management at Morrisons. Louise was the first woman to be appointed a board member of Quality Meat Scotland, the red meat industry body. She was made deputy chair of Food Standards Scotland in June 2016. She has also been selected as a board member for the Moredun Foundation.

Commenting on his appointment, Sir Crispin said: "It is a great honour to have been appointed president for 2018, which is the Year of Young People in Scotland. The presidential team's initiative this year is to make young people aware of the wide range of work, career and educational opportunities in the agricultural industry that are open to young people in the Lothians and Scotland and we plan to work with the industry to bring more young people into the industry."

RHASS chairman, Keith Brooke, added: "We are delighted to welcome such an esteemed presidential team to represent the Lothians and very much look forward to showcasing the Lothians at next year's Royal Highland Show."