FORMER WEST Devon and Torridge MP John Burnett is backing Menzies Campbell in the race to be the new leader of the Liberal Democrat Party. Mr Burnett said he worked closely with Mr Campbell in the run-up to the Iraq War, which both opposed - Mr Burnett was shadowing the Attorney General and Mr Campbell was the party?s foreign affairs spokesman. Mr Burnett said of Mr Campbell: ?He has wisdom, calmness and a statesmanlike approach, which is what we very much need at present.? Mr Campbell is one of three candidates seeking to lead the party in the wake of the resignation of Charles Kennedy. The result of the contest is expected early next month. Mr Burnett, who is soon to be made a working peer for the Liberal Democrats, was West Devon and Torridge MP from 1997 to 2005. He now works as a lawyer for Stephens and Scown in Exeter and lives in Tavistock.
