Denis Nowell Pritt
Encyclopedia
Denis Nowell Pritt usually known as D.N. Pritt, was a British barrister and Labour Party
politician. Born in Harlesden
, Middlesex
, he was educated at Winchester College
and London University
.
A member of the Labour Party from 1918, he was a defender of the Soviet Union
under Stalin. In 1932 as part of G. D. H. Cole
New Fabian Research Bureau's 'expert commission of enquiry' he visited the Soviet Union, and according to Margaret Cole
"the eminent KC swallowed it all". He was thought by George Orwell
to be "perhaps the most effective pro-Soviet publicist in this country".
His book, Must the War Spread?, sympathized with the Soviets and led him to be in poor favour with the Labour Party during the war.
Pritt was a Member of Parliament
(MP) for Hammersmith North
from 1935 to 1940, when he was expelled for defending the Soviet invasion of Finland
. In 1945 Pritt was returned as an Independent Labour MP, and in 1949 formed the Labour Independent Group
with several other 'Fellow travelers' including John Platts-Mills
and Konni Zilliacus
, who had both also been expelled from the Labour Party for pro-Soviet sympathies. In 1950 Pritt lost his seat in that year's General Election.
Pritt was awarded the 1954 International Stalin Peace Prize
and in 1957 became an honorary citizen of Leipzig
, which was then in East Germany
. He was also awarded the Star of the Völkerfreundschaft (in gold) in October 1965.
As a lawyer, Pritt successfully defended Ho Chi Minh
in 1931-32 against a French request for his extradition from Hong Kong
. His most high-profile case, which he lost, was defending the Kapenguria Six
, a group of Kenyan political figures accused in 1952 of Mau Mau links (Jomo Kenyatta
, Bildad Kaggia
, Kung’u Karumba, Fred Kubai, Paul Ngei
and Achieng Oneko
). In this case, Pritt worked with a team of Kenyan and other African and Indian lawyers including Achhroo Kapila and Fitz De Souza. Dennis Pritt Road in Nairobi is named after him.
He died in 1972 in Barn End, Basingstoke
, Hampshire
.
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician. Born in Harlesden
Harlesden
Harlesden is an area in the London Borough of Brent, northwest London, UK. Its main focal point is the Jubilee Clock which commemorates Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee....
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, he was educated at Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
and London University
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
.
A member of the Labour Party from 1918, he was a defender of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
under Stalin. In 1932 as part of G. D. H. Cole
G. D. H. Cole
George Douglas Howard Cole was an English political theorist, economist, writer and historian. As a libertarian socialist he was a long-time member of the Fabian Society and an advocate for the cooperative movement...
New Fabian Research Bureau's 'expert commission of enquiry' he visited the Soviet Union, and according to Margaret Cole
Margaret Cole
Dame Margaret Isabel Cole, DBE was an English socialist politician.Daughter of John Percival Postgate and Edith Allen, Margaret was educated at Roedean School and Girton College, Cambridge. While at Girton, through her reading of H. G...
"the eminent KC swallowed it all". He was thought by George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
to be "perhaps the most effective pro-Soviet publicist in this country".
His book, Must the War Spread?, sympathized with the Soviets and led him to be in poor favour with the Labour Party during the war.
Pritt was a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Hammersmith North
Hammersmith North (UK Parliament constituency)
Hammersmith North was a borough constituency in the Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith in West London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system....
from 1935 to 1940, when he was expelled for defending the Soviet invasion of Finland
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
. In 1945 Pritt was returned as an Independent Labour MP, and in 1949 formed the Labour Independent Group
Labour Independent Group
The Labour Independent Group was an organisation of five former Labour Party Members of Parliament in the United Kingdom.In April 1948, the MP John Platts-Mills campaigned for Pietro Nenni and the Italian Socialist Party, against the Labour government policy. He was expelled from the party...
with several other 'Fellow travelers' including John Platts-Mills
John Platts-Mills
John Faithful Fortescue Platts-Mills, QC was a British Labour Party politician born in Wellington, New Zealand. He graduated with a first-class honours degree in law from Victoria University of Wellington and in 1928 won a Rhodes Scholarship to Balliol College, Oxford...
and Konni Zilliacus
Konni Zilliacus
Konni Zilliacus was a left-wing Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.-Life:Zilliacus was born on 13 September 1894 in Japan, where his parents, Finland-Swedish Konrad Viktor Zilliacus , a prominent activist for the independence of Finland from the Russian Empire, and American-born Lilian...
, who had both also been expelled from the Labour Party for pro-Soviet sympathies. In 1950 Pritt lost his seat in that year's General Election.
Pritt was awarded the 1954 International Stalin Peace Prize
Lenin Peace Prize
The International Lenin Peace Prize was the Soviet Union's equivalent to the Nobel Peace Prize, named in honor of Vladimir Lenin. It was awarded by a panel appointed by the Soviet government, to notable individuals whom the panel indicated had "strengthened peace among peoples"...
and in 1957 became an honorary citizen of Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, which was then in East Germany
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
. He was also awarded the Star of the Völkerfreundschaft (in gold) in October 1965.
As a lawyer, Pritt successfully defended Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
in 1931-32 against a French request for his extradition from Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. His most high-profile case, which he lost, was defending the Kapenguria Six
Kapenguria Six
The Kapenguria Six - Bildad Kaggia, Kung'u Karumba, Jomo Kenyatta, Fred Kubai, Paul Ngei, and Achieng' Oneko - were six leading Kenyan nationalists who were arrested in 1952, tried at Kapenguria in 1952-3, and imprisoned thereafter in Northern Kenya....
, a group of Kenyan political figures accused in 1952 of Mau Mau links (Jomo Kenyatta
Jomo Kenyatta
Jomo Kenyattapron.] served as the first Prime Minister and President of Kenya. He is considered the founding father of the Kenyan nation....
, Bildad Kaggia
Bildad Kaggia
Bildad Mwaganu Kaggia was a Kenyan nationalist, freedom-fighter, and politician.-Early life:Kaggia was born in 1922, at Dagoretti, now part of Nairobi, where his father had moved from his home district of Muranga District....
, Kung’u Karumba, Fred Kubai, Paul Ngei
Paul Ngei
The Honourable Paul Joseph Ngei was a Kenyan politician who was imprisoned for his role in the anti-colonial movement, but who went on to hold several government ministerial positions after Kenya became independent....
and Achieng Oneko
Achieng Oneko
Ramogi Achieng Oneko was a Kenyan freedom fighter and a politician. In Kenya, he is considered as a national hero.He was born in Tieng'a village in Uyoma sub-location in Bondo District in 1920 and educated at Maseno School.- Detention :...
). In this case, Pritt worked with a team of Kenyan and other African and Indian lawyers including Achhroo Kapila and Fitz De Souza. Dennis Pritt Road in Nairobi is named after him.
He died in 1972 in Barn End, Basingstoke
Basingstoke
Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
.
Works
- Light on Moscow (1939)
- Must the War Spread? (1940)
- Federal Illusion (1940)
- Choose your Future (1940)
- The Fall of the French Republic (1940)
- USSR Our Ally (1941)
- India Our Ally? (1946)
- Revolt in Europe (1947)
- A New World Grows (1947)
- Star-Spangled Shadow (1947)
- The State Department and the Cold War (1948)
- Spies and Informers in the Witness-box (1958)
- Liberty in Chains (1962)
- The Labour Government, 1945-1951 (1963)
- Neo-Nazis, the Danger of War (1966)
- Autobiography
- From Right to Left (1965)
- Brasshats and Bureaucrats (1966)
- The Defence Accuses (1966)