Leading academics die in car crash

Professor Donald Michie, 84, and Dame Anne McLaren, 80, were killed when their car left the M11 motorway as they travelled from Cambridge to London on Saturday.

Their son, Jonathan Michie, said his parents, who were divorced, were on their way back to the home they shared in London when the accident happened.

Prof Michie was a researcher in artificial intelligence who worked as part of the British code-breaking group at Bletchley Park during the Second World War.

He contributed to the effort to solve Tunny, a German teleprinter cipher.

He was director of the University of Edinburgh's Department of Machine Intelligence and Perception from its establishment in 1966 and was founder and editor-in-chief of the Machine Intelligence series.

His former wife, with whom he remained close friends after their divorce in 1959, was a leading geneticist who became the first female officer of the Royal Society, holding the post of Foreign Secretary from 1991-1996.

Dr McLaren was a member of the Warnock Commission that advised on ethical issues on the use of genetics. She was made a DBE in 1993.

Despite being in their 80s, both remained active with Dr McLaren travelling the world to speak at major conferences, Mr Michie said.

The couple, who worked together at University College London during the 1950s, leave three children. Prof Michie also leaves one son from a previous marriage.