The Lord Brittan of Spennithorne | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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_02.jpg) Brittan in 1996 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vice-President of the European Commission | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 16 March 1999 – 15 September 1999 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Manuel Marín (acting) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Manuel Marín | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Neil Kinnock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Secretary of State for Trade and Industry | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 2 September 1985 – 24 January 1986 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Norman Tebbit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Paul Channon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home Secretary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 11 June 1983 – 2 September 1985 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | William Whitelaw | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Douglas Hurd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chief Secretary to the Treasury | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 5 January 1981 – 11 June 1983 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | John Biffen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Peter Rees | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister of State for Home Affairs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 4 May 1979 – 5 January 1981 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | The Lord Boston of Faversham | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Patrick Mayhew | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of Parliament forRichmond (Yorks) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 9 June 1983 – 31 December 1988 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Timothy Kitson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | William Hague | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of Parliament forCleveland and Whitby | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 28 February 1974 – 13 May 1983 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | James Tinn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Leon Brittan (1939-09-25)25 September 1939 London, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 21 January 2015(2015-01-21) (aged 75) London, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Conservative | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Samuel Brittan (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Profession | Barrister | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Awards | Knight Bachelor (1989) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne,PC, QC, DL (25 September 1939 – 21 January 2015) was a BritishConservative politician andbarrister who served as aEuropean Commissioner from 1989 to 1999. As amember of Parliament from 1974 to 1988, he served several ministerial roles inMargaret Thatcher's government, includingHome Secretary from 1983 to 1985.
Leon Brittan was born in London, the son of Rebecca (née Lipetz) and Joseph Brittan, a doctor. His parents wereLithuanian Jews who had migrated to Britain before theSecond World War.[2]
Brittan was educated at theHaberdashers' Aske's Boys' School andTrinity College, Cambridge, where he was President of theCambridge Union Society and Chairman of theCambridge University Conservative Association. Brittan then studied atYale University on aHenry Fellowship.[3]Sir Samuel Brittan, the economics journalist, was his brother.[2] The former Conservative MPMalcolm Rifkind and the music producerMark Ronson were cousins.[4][5]
After unsuccessfully contesting the constituency ofKensington North in1966 and1970, he was elected to Parliament in thegeneral election of February 1974 forCleveland and Whitby, and became an opposition spokesman in 1976. He was made aQueen's Counsel in 1978. Between 1979 and 1981, he was Minister of State at theHome Office. He was then promoted to becomeChief Secretary to the Treasury, becoming the youngest member of theCabinet.[6] He warned cabinet colleagues that spending on social security, health and education would have to be cut "whether they like it or not".[7]
At the1983 election, Brittan was elected MP forRichmond. Following the election, he was promoted toHome Secretary, becoming the youngest sinceChurchill.[6] During the1984–85 miners' strike, Brittan was a strong critic of the leadership of theNational Union of Mineworkers. He accused them of organising violence byflying pickets, whom he described as "thugs".[8] One factor in the defeat of the strike was central control of local police forces. As soon as the strike began, Brittan set up a National Reporting Centre inNew Scotland Yard to coordinate intelligence and the supply of police officers between forces as necessary.Margaret Thatcher's government had carefully planned for a miners' strike, and aWhitehall committee had been meeting in secret since 1981 to prepare for a protracted dispute.[9]
In 1984, after themurder of Yvonne Fletcher, a police officer, during a protest outside theLibyan embassy in London, Brittan headed the government's crisis committee as both Thatcher and the Foreign Secretary,Sir Geoffrey Howe, were away at the time.[10] In January 2014, secret government documents released bythe National Archives disclosed that Libya twice warned British officials that the Libyan embassy protest would become violent – hours before WPC Fletcher was killed.[11]
In September 1986, Brittan was cleared by a High Court Judge of acting unlawfully when, as Home Secretary, he gaveMI5 permission to tap the telephone of a leader of theCampaign for Nuclear Disarmament.[12]
In September 1985, Brittan was moved toSecretary of State for Trade and Industry.[13] The reason for his demotion, according toJonathan Aitken, was that the prime minister Margaret Thatcher felt that Brittan was "not getting the message across on television".[14] In her memoirs, Thatcher wrote of Brittan: "Everybody complained about his manner on television, which seemed aloof and uncomfortable."[15]
Brittan had been criticised as a poor communicator and for his role in the suppression of aBBC television programme in theReal Lives series onThe Troubles in Northern Ireland,At the Edge of the Union.[13] Brittan stated that transmission of the programme would be against the national interest and in August 1985 he wrote to the BBC chairman,Stuart Young, asking for the broadcast to be cancelled. The BBC's Board of Governors called an emergency meeting and ruled that the documentary could not be shown. The controversy led to a rift between the BBC's boards of management and governors. It also led to a day of strike action by hundreds of television and radio workers who protested against what they perceived as government censorship.[16][17]
Brittan resigned as Trade and Industry Secretary in January 1986 over theWestland affair.[18] Brittan had authorised theleaking of a letter from theSolicitor General that had accusedMichael Heseltine of inaccuracies in his campaign for Westland to be rescued by a consortium of European investors.[18] The rest of the government, led by Margaret Thatcher, supported a deal with the American businessSikorsky Fiat.[18]
Jonathan Aitken wrote of Brittan's resignation: "Soon after a poisonous meeting of Tory backbenchers at the 1922 Committee, he fell on his sword. It was a combination of a witch hunt and a search for a scapegoat – tainted by an undercurrent of anti-Semitism. […] I believed what should have been obvious to anyone else, that he was being used as a lightning conductor to deflect the fire that the Prime Minister had started and inflamed".[14] It was later revealed that Brittan had attempted to persuadeBritish Aerospace andGeneral Electric Company (GEC) to withdraw from the European consortium.[18]
In October 1986, in aHouse of Commons debate, Brittan made a bitter attack on Michael Heseltine, accusing him of "thwarting the Government at every turn" in its handling of the Westland affair. Brittan said that Government decisions "should have the support of all its members and should not be undermined from within".[19]
In 1989, Brittan revealed in aChannel 4 programme that two senior Downing Street officials,Bernard Ingham andCharles Powell, had approved the leaking of the letter from the Solicitor General. Brittan's claim led to calls from some Labour MPs for a new inquiry into the Westland affair.[20]
Brittan wasknighted in the1989 New Years Honours List.[21] He was madeEuropean Commissioner for Competition at theEuropean Commission early in 1989,[18] resigning as an MP to take the position. He accepted the post reluctantly, as it meant giving up his British parliamentary ambitions.[22] Margaret Thatcher appointed Brittan to the Commission as a replacement forLord Cockfield, whose pro-European enthusiasm she disapproved of; however, in doing so she had overlooked Brittan's own record as a supporter of the European Union and subsequently found his views and policies at odds with those she had expected from him.[22] Brittan passed the merger regulation in 1989,[23] which enabled him to ban the ATR/De Havilland planned merger in 1991.[24]
In 1993 he becameEuropean Commissioner for Trade and in 1995European Commissioner for External Affairs, also serving as aVice-President of the European Commission. Brittan resigned with the rest of theSanter Commission in 1999 amid accusations of fraud againstJacques Santer andÉdith Cresson.[18] During his time as a Vice-President of the European Commission, one subsequently prominent member of his official office wasNick Clegg,[25] who became leader of theLiberal Democrats in December 2007[26] anddeputy prime minister in May 2010.[27]
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Brittan was created alife peer (Baron Brittan of Spennithorne, ofSpennithorne in theCounty of North Yorkshire) on 9 February 2000.[28] He was vice-chairman ofUBS AG Investment Bank, non-executive director ofUnilever and member of the international advisory committee forTotal. In August 2010, Brittan was appointed a trade adviser to the UK government. Prime MinisterDavid Cameron said that Brittan had "unrivalled experience" for the job, which was scheduled to last for six months.[29]
Brittan's wife Diana (née Clemetson, born 1940),[1] Lady Brittan of Spennithorne, was named a Dame Commander of theOrder of the British Empire (DBE) in the2004 Birthday Honours "for public service and charity".[30]
Brittan died at his London home inPimlico on 21 January 2015, aged 75;[1] he had been ill with cancer for some time. He had two stepdaughters.[31]
In 1984, in his capacity as Home Secretary, Brittan was handed a40-page dossier byGeoffrey Dickens MP which detailed alleged paedophile activity in the 1980s, including, according to Dickens, allegations concerning "people in positions of power, influence and responsibility".[32][33] The whereabouts of the dossier is currently unknown.[32] Brittan denied any knowledge of the matter in an e-mail to aChannel 4 News reporter in 2013,[34] and later replied that he had no recollection of it to a query fromThe Independent newspaper.[35]
Brittan later declared in 2014 that Dickens had met him at the Home Office and that he had written to Dickens on 20 March 1984, explaining what had been done about the files.[34] In an article forThe Times, journalist James Gillespie quoted a letter from Dickens dated 7 January 1984 in which he thanked Brittan for his "splendid support". He also gave examples of the allegations in the dossier, including a woman protesting that her 16-year-old son had become homosexual after working in Buckingham Palace kitchens and a civil servant advocating persons caught by Customs and Excise importing child pornography should be referred to the police.[36]
An initial review by Home Office civil servantMark Sedwill in 2013 concluded that copies of Dickens's material had "not been retained" but that Brittan had acted appropriately in dealing with the allegations. In November 2014, a review byPeter Wanless followed. Wanless said there was no evidence to suggest that files had been removed to cover up abuse.[37]
In June 2014, Brittan was interviewed under caution by police in connection with the alleged rape of a 19-year-old student in his central London flat in 1967 before he became an MP. They had not pursued the allegation when it was first made because of insufficient evidence. The police reopened the investigation afterAlison Saunders, theDirector of Public Prosecutions, had been lobbied by Labour MPTom Watson to investigate further.[38] In a statement on 7 July 2014, Brittan denied the claims.[39] At the time of his death, Brittan had not been told by the police that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him for the alleged rape of the woman.[40] The deputy assistant commissioner of the Met, Steve Rodhouse, wrote a letter of apology to the solicitors of Brittan's widow.[41]
In October 2014, the Labour MPJimmy Hood usedparliamentary privilege to refer to claims that Brittan had been linked to child abuse.[42][43]After Brittan died in January 2015, Watson accused him of "multiple child rape"; he said he had spoken to two people who claimed they were abused by Brittan.[44] Convicted fraudster Chris Fay[45] alleged that he had seen a photograph of Brittan with a child atElm Guest House in mid-1982.[46] In March 2015, it was reported that detectives fromOperation Midland, set up by the Metropolitan Police to investigate claims of child sex abuse, had visited and searched two homes in London and Yorkshire formerly owned by Brittan.[47] One of Brittan's accusers subsequently told BBC'sPanorama that he originally named Brittan as a joke and told the Metropolitan Police that two well-known campaigners may have led him into making false claims.[48] On 21 March 2016, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that Operation Midland had been closed without any charges being brought.[49]
On 1 September 2017, it was reported that the Metropolitan Police had paid substantial compensation to Brittan's widow for having raided the Brittans' home "after accepting that the searches had been unjustified and should never have taken place."[50] Carl Beech, whose claims spurred Operation Midland, was convicted ofperverting the course of justice in July 2019.[51]
Brittan was created alife peer bythe Queen on the advice of Conservative Party leaderWilliam Hague. He took the titleBaron Brittan of Spennithorne,ofSpennithorne in theCounty of North Yorkshire on 9 February 2000.[28] He sat with the Conservative Party benches in theHouse of Lords.
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| Country | Date | Appointment | Post-nominal letters |
|---|---|---|---|
 United Kingdom | 1978 – 21 January 2015 | Queen's Counsel[52] | QC |
| United Kingdom | 1981 – 21 January 2015 | Member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council | PC |
| United Kingdom | 31 December 1988 – 21 January 2015 | Knight Bachelor | Kt |
| United Kingdom | 1 August 2001 – 25 September 2014 | Deputy Lieutenant ofNorth Yorkshire[53] | DL |
|
| Country | Date | Appointment | Post-nominal letters |
|---|---|---|---|
 Estonia | Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (2nd Class) |
|
| Location | Date | School | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
 England | 1993–2005 | Teesside University | Chancellor |
| Location | Date | School | Degree | Gave Commencement Address |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1990 | Newcastle University | Doctor of Civil Law (DCL)[54] | |
| England | 1990 | University of Hull | Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[55] | |
 Scotland | 1991 | University of Edinburgh | Doctorate[56] | |
| England | 1992 | University of Bradford | Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[57] | |
| England | 1992 | University of Durham | Doctor of Civil Law (DCL)[58] | |
| England | 1995 | University of Bath | Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[59] | |
| England | Teesside University | Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[60] |
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| Country | Date | Organisation | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1960 | Cambridge Union | President |
| United Kingdom | 1983 – 21 January 2015 | Inner Temple | Bencher[61] |
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