AS ONE of Westminster’s most outspoken back-benchers, Tam Dalyell was not a man to shy away from confrontation. But the former Labour MP has admitted he adopted a more diplomatic approach in his dealings with the heritage body that runs his ancestral home. Mr Dalyell, who has lived in the Binns, near Linlithgow in West Lothian, since it was donated by his family to the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) in 1944, recalls a series of battles over astragal windows, paving stones for the 14th-century kitchen and replacement table legs.

“This does depend on working harmoniously, with, in our case, the National Trust for Scotland,” he said. “It is an interesting question about harmony and there have been a number of relatively minor differences of opinion.” Mr Dalyell and his wife, who act as voluntary property managers at the Binns, were successful when they dug their heels in after the NTS wanted to put expensive ornate legs on a marble table, at a cost of £5,000. “I insisted they keep the kitchen table legs, which were put on in the 1930s so that I or any other small toddler would not drag this heavy table over on ourselves. On this matter, Kathleen and I prevailed.”