Lecture theatre at Edinburgh Uni to be renamed in honour of Gordon Aikman

A lecture theatre is to be renamed in memory of motor neurone disease (MND) activist Gordon Aikman.

Edinburgh University is to honour the campaigner and business school graduate by renaming its George Square lecture theatre after him.

Mr Aikman died last February aged just 31 after being diagnosed with the condition in 2014.

He launched the Gordon's Fightback campaign as he battled the condition, raising more than #600,000 for MND Scotland to fund research into a cure.

Gordon Aikman and campaigners celebrate raising half a million pounds for MND research in 2016 (Jane Barlow/PA)

The renaming of the university's largest lecture theatre was proposed by the student union.

Joe Pike, Mr Aikman's husband, said: We are all very touched by the university's very generous decision.

It seems fitting that Gordon's work as a campaigner has been recognised after a campaign by the student body he was once an active member of.

And how wonderful that the lecture hall Gordon sat in aged 18 as a first year business student, will now bear his name.''

Professor Charlie Jeffery, the university's senior vice-principal, said: Gordon Aikman was a tenacious campaigner. By striving to change the quality and funding of care and research, he helped to improve the lives of people living with MND and was an inspiration to many.

We are delighted to honour his remarkable achievements in this way.''

A formal naming ceremony and plaque unveiling will take place later this year