Fresh tributes have been paid to former Lord Justice of Appeal Sir Liam McCollum who died on Monday aged 90.

Originally from Co Derry, he retired from the bench in the 2000s.

Called to the bar in 1955, he took silk in 1971.

He served as a High Court judge from 1987 to 1997 before serving as a Lord Justice of Appeal from 1997 to 2004.

Sir Liam McCollum's son, Liam McCollum KC, is well known in legal circles and a former chair of the Bar of Northern Ireland.

Current chair Moira Smyth KC said Sir Liam had an "eminent legal career".

“On behalf of all members of the Bar we extend our deepest condolences to all members of the extended McCollum family including his sons Ciaran and, our former Chairman of the Bar Council, Liam.”

Once tipped to become the first Catholic Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, in 2005 he made headlines when he called for a criminal probe into the cancelling of a contract by the PSNI to a Belfast company for plating for armoured vehicles.

Dame Siobhan Keegan, Northern Ireland's Lady Chief Justice, said she noted her colleague's death "with sadness" and paid tribute to his career.

"Sir Liam made an important contribution to the jurisprudence of this jurisdiction," she said.

"I would like to express my condolences, and that of the judiciary, to Sir Liam’s wife, his children and the wider family circle."