Thomas Jeremy King, Baron King of Bridgwater,CH, PC (born 13 June 1933) is a British politician.[2] A member of theConservative Party, he served in theCabinet from 1983 to 1992, and was theMember of Parliament (MP) for the constituency ofBridgwater in Somerset from 1970 to 2001. He was made alife peer in 2001.
King was educated at twoindependent schools: at St Michael's School, a former boys' preparatory school (later co-educational), in the village ofTawstock in NorthDevon, followed byRugby School (Sheriff House), a boarding school for boys inWarwickshire, before attendingEmmanuel College, Cambridge.
King was commissioned as an officer in theSomerset Light Infantry in 1952[3] and during his period ofnational service he was seconded to theKing's African Rifles.
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King was elected to Parliament at the1970 Bridgwater by-election, following the death of the sitting MP,Sir Gerald Wills.
King was brought into the Cabinet in 1983 by Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher. After brief stints as theEnvironment Secretary andTransport Secretary, he went on to hold the posts ofEmployment Secretary andNorthern Ireland Secretary at a time when these were high-profile roles with the potential for controversy.
In October 1988,John McCann, Finbar Cullen and Martina Shanahan, all from theRepublic of Ireland, were convicted atWinchester Crown Court of conspiracy to murder King near his home inWiltshire and sentenced to 25 years in prison. No evidence was produced in the trial that the defendants belonged to theIRA. The trio were freed after serving two and a half years after their convictions were quashed. The Court of Appeal ruled that their trial could have been prejudiced by comments made by King who said the defendants should not have the right to remain silent.[4][5] The formerMaster of the Rolls,Lord Denning, criticised the Appeal Court ruling, stating: "British justice has been betrayed by the Court of Appeal, in my opinion. Justice was done at Winchester Crown Court."[6]
King went on to serve asDefence Secretary under Prime MinisterJohn Major during theGulf War. He left the Cabinet following the1992 general election, and returned to thebackbenches where he served as Chairman of theIntelligence and Security Select Committee from 1994 to 2001, during which time KGB agentVasili Mitrokhin defected to reveal 87-year-oldMelita Norwood as a Soviet spy.[7]
King left theHouse of Commons at the2001 general election, and was created alife peer asBaron King of Bridgwater, ofBridgwater in theCounty of Somerset on 9 July 2001.[8] He now sits in theHouse of Lords. He serves as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party's Policy Group on National and International Security, which was set up byDavid Cameron in 2006.[citation needed]
King was portrayed byPeter Blythe in the 2004BBC production ofThe Alan Clark Diaries.
King was the subject of a song in the satirical ITV programmeSpitting Image in which he was depicted asthe Invisible Man during his term as Employment Secretary.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBridgwater 1970–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for the Environment 1983 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Transport 1983 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Employment 1983–1985 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 1985–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Defence 1989–1992 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Chairperson of theIntelligence and Security Committee 1994–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Gentlemen Baron King of Bridgwater | Followed by |
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