Glasgow criminal lawyer Joe Beltrami, who died last week aged 82, was today described as one of the greatest Scots of recent years.

The tribute was paid in a touching eulogy at his requiem mass by his close friend Donald Findlay QC.

Mr Findlay said Mr Beltrami had been his mentor, close colleague and friend.

He added: "Joe has been a towering presence in my life, in the lives of many others, and in Scots law.

"He was truly one of the outstanding Scots of recent times."

The QC said that Mr Beltrami was many years "a constant source of encouragement, support, advice and, indeed, inspiration" to him.

"Whatever I have achieved in this profession, it is in no small measure due to Joe ... I owe him a huge debt of gratitude."

He said that many of those people sitting in the pews of St Aloysius' R.C. Church in Garnethill, "many are here simply because their lives were enriched, both privately and professionally, by Joe Beltrami."

The mass was attended by more than 300 people, with the law profession heavily represented.

Mr Beltrami died last Monday. During his celebrated 50-year-long career as a criminal lawyer, he appeared for the accused in some 350 murder trials.

He saved 12 clients from the gallows, and won the first-ever Royal Pardon to be granted north of the border.

The mass was today reminded of the cry of 'Get me Beltrami', uttered by many people who found themselves in trouble with the law.

Mr Findlay made the congregation smile as he related how Mr Beltrami "had a unique ability to know when a client was going to be acquitted" by a jury and was also in the habit of turning up at court before any other lawyers.

Mr Beltrami's eldest son, Edwin, was applauded after his own eulogy to his father, in which he recalled his dedication to his work and his love of sport and music.

Being able to watch Elvis Presley in Las Vegas, he said, was one of his father's proudest moments.

He said his father's pet hate had been people who were unable to spell or pronounce his name.

He also described him as a "complex character, a very shy man - some may find that hard to accept, but he was."

After the requiem mass, the mourners made their way to Dalnottar crematorium, in Clydebank.