Derek Conway
Encyclopedia
Derek Leslie Conway TD
(born 15 February 1953) is an English politician and television presenter. A member of the centre-right Conservative Party
, Conway served as a Member of Parliament
(MP) for the constituency of Old Bexley and Sidcup from 2001 to 2010.
He announced that he would stand down in January 2008 after a Commons standards committee adjudged that he had employed his son Freddie, a full-time student at Newcastle University, as a political researcher using public funds, despite there being no record of his son doing any work at Westminster. As a result, Conservative Party leader David Cameron
withdrew the whip
from Conway, effectively expelling him from the Parliamentary Conservative group. He received considerable criticism from the press concerning the misuse of funds.
He is currently employed as a presenter of Epilogue
, a book review programme on Press TV
, an English-language international television news channel funded by the Iranian government.
and was educated at Beacon Hill Comprehensive School in the town, Gateshead
Technical College, and Newcastle upon Tyne Polytechnic
.
Conway was elected as a councillor on the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead
council, aged 21, in 1974 and was the Deputy Conservative Group Leader from 1974 until his election to Westminster
in 1983. He remained a councillor at Gateshead, however, until 1987.
In 1977, he was also elected to the Tyne and Wear
County Council and was the Conservative group leader from 1979 until 1982, stepping down from the county council in 1983.
At the October 1974 General Election
, he contested the parliamentary constituency of Durham, but was defeated by the sitting Labour
MP Mark Hughes
by 18,116 votes.
Conway contested Newcastle upon Tyne East
at the 1979 General Election
and was again defeated, this time by the Labour MP Mike Thomas
by 6,176 votes.
for Shrewsbury and Atcham
following the retirement of the long serving Conservative MP for Shrewsbury
John Langford-Holt
. Conway secured a majority of 8,624 and held the seat until he was defeated at the 1997 General Election
.
He became a member of the Agriculture
Select Committee in 1985, and after the 1987 General Election
he joined the Transport
Select Committee until 1988 when he was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary
(PPS) to the Minister of State
at the Wales Office
Wyn Roberts until 1991.
Following the 1992 General Election
he became the PPS to Michael Forsyth
the Minister of State at the Department for Employment. Conway was promoted to serve in government by John Major
in 1993 as an Assistant Government Whip
, becoming a Lord Commissioner to the Treasury a 'full whip' in 1994. He was again promoted within the Whips' Office when he became the Vice Chamberlain of HM Household
in 1996.
by 1,670 votes. After his defeat he became the chief executive at the Cats Protection
charity.
In his book titled The Political Animal, Jeremy Paxman
recounts Conway's reflections on his defeat: "'Had it not been for James Goldsmith
's intervention I'd have won. He died of pancreatic cancer,' he [Conway] says, and then adds in the most chilling tone, 'I hear it's the most painful of deaths. I'm so pleased.'"
Conway was out of the Commons until the general election, 2001
when he was elected as the MP for the south London seat of Old Bexley and Sidcup previously held by the former Prime Minister
and Father of the House of Commons, Edward Heath
. Conway defended Heath against accusations of homosexual
behaviour.
He retained the seat with a majority of 3,345 in 2005
. Since his re-election he has been a member of the Defence
Select Committee. He is a Eurosceptic
(even voting against the Single European Act
that had the backing of Margaret Thatcher
's government), and supports the return of capital punishment
.
Conway was reported to the Committee on Standards and Privileges
by former Metropolitan Police Inspector Michael Barnbrook, who had stood against him in the 2005 General Election as a UKIP candidate. After an investigation, in January 2008 the Committee found there was "no record" of what work Freddie had done, and said the £1,000-plus a month he was paid was too high. They recommended that the House order him to repay a sum of £13,000 and that he be suspended for 10 sitting days. However, in a subsequent interview with the Mail on Sunday, Derek Conway disputed the allegation that Freddie Conway had rarely travelled from Newcastle to Westminster, instead stating that Freddie "would go up and down like a fiddler's elbow".
In light of the evidence, Conservative party leader David Cameron
decided to withdraw the Conservative Party Whip, rendering Conway free of any Parliamentary Conservative constraints, effectively leaving him as an independent MP.
Conway announced on 30 January 2008 that he would not fight the next general election, stating "I have concluded that it's now time to step down." He declared that he did not wish his "personal circumstances to be a distraction" from David Cameron's leadership.
The ruling did not involve the elder son, Henry Conway
, as he was not the subject of the original complaint, but John Lyon
, who had recently taken on the post of Parliamentary commissioner for standards
, received complaints about similar payments to Henry while he was also a student and doing the "job" which Freddie took over. Lyon decided a complaint from Duncan Borrowman merited investigation.
On 29 January 2009, almost a year after the previous report, a further report was published by the House of Commons Standards and Privileges Committee into the employment of Mr Conway's elder son Henry. There was some evidence of Henry working for his salary, but his father was ordered to pay back £3,758 which had been overpaid and to write a letter of apology to the chairman of the committee.
On 2 February 2009, Conway apologised in the House of Commons.
Mr Conway told the Commons he accepted "without any reservation" that he had breached the rules of the House. He withdrew comments made previously in which he accused Labour of using his story to deflect attention from the row over money paid to peers
.
In May 2009 as part of its Disclosure of expenses of British Members of Parliament, the Sunday Telegraph
revealed that Conway had claimed the Second Home Allowance on a house in Northumberland 330 miles from his constituency.
Conway was commissioned into the 6th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
(Territorial Army) in 1977. He was promoted Lieutenant
in 1979 and Captain in 1981. In 1982 he transferred to 5th Battalion, The Light Infantry
. He was promoted Major in 1987, was awarded the Territorial Decoration
in 1990 and transferred to the Reserve in 1994. He has also been an executive for Granada Television
, a Sunday school
teacher and a charity organiser for the National Fund for Research into Crippling Diseases (1974–1983) and the Cats Protection League (chief executive from 1998 to 2003). He is a Freeman of the City of London.
Territorial Decoration
The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...
(born 15 February 1953) is an English politician and television presenter. A member of the centre-right Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, Conway served as 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 the constituency of Old Bexley and Sidcup from 2001 to 2010.
He announced that he would stand down in January 2008 after a Commons standards committee adjudged that he had employed his son Freddie, a full-time student at Newcastle University, as a political researcher using public funds, despite there being no record of his son doing any work at Westminster. As a result, Conservative Party leader David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
withdrew the whip
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.-The Whips Office:...
from Conway, effectively expelling him from the Parliamentary Conservative group. He received considerable criticism from the press concerning the misuse of funds.
He is currently employed as a presenter of Epilogue
Epilogue (TV series)
Epilogue is a televised book review show hosted alternately by Ken Livingstone and Derek Conway MP. It is on the international television network Press TV. The first series was transmitted on 2 November 2001 and the show is now in its second series...
, a book review programme on Press TV
Press TV
Press TV is a 24-hour English language global news network owned by the Iranian government. Its headquarters are located in Tehran, Iran, with bureaux in Beirut , Damascus , London , Seoul and Washington DC ....
, an English-language international television news channel funded by the Iranian government.
Early life
Conway was born in GatesheadGateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
and was educated at Beacon Hill Comprehensive School in the town, Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
Technical College, and Newcastle upon Tyne Polytechnic
Northumbria University
Northumbria University is an academic institution located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North East of England. It is a member of the University Alliance.- History :...
.
Conway was elected as a councillor on the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead
Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead
The Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead is a metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. It is named after its largest town, Gateshead, but also spans the towns of Rowlands Gill, Whickham, Blaydon and Ryton; suburban areas include Felling, Pelaw, Dunston and Low Fell.It is bordered...
council, aged 21, in 1974 and was the Deputy Conservative Group Leader from 1974 until his election to Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
in 1983. He remained a councillor at Gateshead, however, until 1987.
In 1977, he was also elected to the Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
County Council and was the Conservative group leader from 1979 until 1982, stepping down from the county council in 1983.
At the October 1974 General Election
United Kingdom general election, October 1974
The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...
, he contested the parliamentary constituency of Durham, but was defeated by the sitting Labour
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...
MP Mark Hughes
Mark Hughes (politician)
William Mark Hughes was a Labour politician.Hughes was Member of Parliament for Durham from 1970 to 1983, and the City of Durham from 1983 to 1987, when he stood down. From 1975 to 1979, he was also a Member of the European Parliament.- External links :...
by 18,116 votes.
Conway contested Newcastle upon Tyne East
Newcastle upon Tyne East (UK Parliament constituency)
Newcastle upon Tyne East is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
at the 1979 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
and was again defeated, this time by the Labour MP Mike Thomas
Michael Thomas (politician)
Michael Stuart Thomas, known as Mike Thomas, is a former British politician, identified with the Labour Party until 1981 and thereafter with the Social Democratic Party. He became well known for his role in both the establishment of the SDP and then in the SDP's subsequent demise...
by 6,176 votes.
Member of Parliament
Derek Conway was elected to parliament at the 1983 General ElectionUnited Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
for Shrewsbury and Atcham
Shrewsbury and Atcham (UK Parliament constituency)
Shrewsbury and Atcham is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
following the retirement of the long serving Conservative MP for Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
John Langford-Holt
John Langford-Holt
Sir John Anthony Langford-Holt was a British Conservative Member of Parliament for Shrewsbury from 1945 to 1983. Unlike most other members of Parliament, Sir John made it clear that he would never seek ministerial office and would refuse it he were offered such a post.He was born in Studdale,...
. Conway secured a majority of 8,624 and held the seat until he was defeated at the 1997 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
.
He became a member of the Agriculture
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a United Kingdom government department created by the Board of Agriculture Act 1889 and at that time called the Board of Agriculture, and then from 1903 the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, and from 1919 the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries...
Select Committee in 1985, and after the 1987 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
he joined the Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
Select Committee until 1988 when he was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
(PPS) to the Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
at the Wales Office
Wales Office
The Wales Office / Swyddfa Cymru is a United Kingdom government department. It replaced the former Welsh Office, which had extensive responsibility for governing Wales prior to Welsh devolution in 1999....
Wyn Roberts until 1991.
Following the 1992 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
he became the PPS to Michael Forsyth
Michael Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean
Michael Bruce Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean PC, Kt is a British financier and politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Stirling from 1983 to 1997 and served in the cabinet of John Major as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1995 to 1997...
the Minister of State at the Department for Employment. Conway was promoted to serve in government by John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
in 1993 as an Assistant Government Whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
, becoming a Lord Commissioner to the Treasury a 'full whip' in 1994. He was again promoted within the Whips' Office when he became the Vice Chamberlain of HM Household
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
The Vice-Chamberlain of the Household is usually a junior government whip in the British House of Commons and is an officer of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. He or she is the Deputy to the Lord Chamberlain of the Household. The Vice-Chamberlain's main role is to compile...
in 1996.
1997 general election defeat and return
Conway lost his Shrewsbury and Atcham seat at the 1997 General Election to Labour's Paul MarsdenPaul Marsden
Paul William Barry Marsden is a British writer, businessman and former politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Shrewsbury and Atcham from 1997 until 2005...
by 1,670 votes. After his defeat he became the chief executive at the Cats Protection
Cats Protection
Cats Protection, formerly The Cats Protection League, is a UK charity dedicated to rescuing and rehoming stray, unwanted or homeless cats and educating people about cats and cat welfare. The organisation was founded as The Cats Protection League on May 16, 1927 at a meeting in Caxton Hall, London...
charity.
In his book titled The Political Animal, Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Dickson Paxman is a British journalist, author and television presenter. He has worked for the BBC since 1977. He is noted for a forthright and abrasive interviewing style, particularly when interrogating politicians...
recounts Conway's reflections on his defeat: "'Had it not been for James Goldsmith
James Goldsmith
Sir James Michael "Jimmy" Goldsmith was an Anglo-French billionaire financier and tycoon. Towards the end of his life, he became a magazine publisher and a politician. In 1994, he was elected to represent France as a Member of the European Parliament and he subsequently founded the short-lived...
's intervention I'd have won. He died of pancreatic cancer,' he [Conway] says, and then adds in the most chilling tone, 'I hear it's the most painful of deaths. I'm so pleased.'"
Conway was out of the Commons until the general election, 2001
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
when he was elected as the MP for the south London seat of Old Bexley and Sidcup previously held by the former Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
and Father of the House of Commons, Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
. Conway defended Heath against accusations of homosexual
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
behaviour.
He retained the seat with a majority of 3,345 in 2005
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
. Since his re-election he has been a member of the Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
Select Committee. He is a Eurosceptic
EuroSceptic
EuroSceptic is the second album of British singer Jack Lucien. It was released in October 2009.Due to being an album influenced by Europop, it features songs with parts in different languages...
(even voting against the Single European Act
Single European Act
The Single European Act was the first major revision of the 1957 Treaty of Rome. The Act set the European Community an objective of establishing a Single Market by 31 December 1992, and codified European Political Cooperation, the forerunner of the European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy...
that had the backing of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
's government), and supports the return of capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
.
Investigation and withdrawal of whip
Conway employed his son Freddie as a part-time researcher, while Freddie was on a full-time degree course at the University of Newcastle. Conway paid his son the part-time equivalent of a £25,970 salary, amounting to a sum in excess of £40,000 over three years, including pension contributions.Conway was reported to the Committee on Standards and Privileges
Committee on Standards and Privileges
The Standards and Privileges Committee of the United Kingdom House of Commons was established in 1995 to replace the earlier Committee of Privileges...
by former Metropolitan Police Inspector Michael Barnbrook, who had stood against him in the 2005 General Election as a UKIP candidate. After an investigation, in January 2008 the Committee found there was "no record" of what work Freddie had done, and said the £1,000-plus a month he was paid was too high. They recommended that the House order him to repay a sum of £13,000 and that he be suspended for 10 sitting days. However, in a subsequent interview with the Mail on Sunday, Derek Conway disputed the allegation that Freddie Conway had rarely travelled from Newcastle to Westminster, instead stating that Freddie "would go up and down like a fiddler's elbow".
In light of the evidence, Conservative party leader David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
decided to withdraw the Conservative Party Whip, rendering Conway free of any Parliamentary Conservative constraints, effectively leaving him as an independent MP.
Conway announced on 30 January 2008 that he would not fight the next general election, stating "I have concluded that it's now time to step down." He declared that he did not wish his "personal circumstances to be a distraction" from David Cameron's leadership.
The ruling did not involve the elder son, Henry Conway
Henry Conway
Henry Conway is an English party promoter, author and fashion journalist.-Career:Conway works as a party promoter, running Thursday nights at Mahiki, Wednesday night at the London branch of Bungalow 8 and Friday night at Maya in Soho. He has been signed on as a promoter for Whiskey Mist, which...
, as he was not the subject of the original complaint, but John Lyon
John Lyon (commissioner)
John Lyon, CB, is the current British Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. He commenced his appointment, which was for a period of five years, on 1 January 2008....
, who had recently taken on the post of Parliamentary commissioner for standards
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is an officer of the British House of Commons.He or she is appointed by a Resolution of the House of Commons and works a four-day week.- Tasks :...
, received complaints about similar payments to Henry while he was also a student and doing the "job" which Freddie took over. Lyon decided a complaint from Duncan Borrowman merited investigation.
On 29 January 2009, almost a year after the previous report, a further report was published by the House of Commons Standards and Privileges Committee into the employment of Mr Conway's elder son Henry. There was some evidence of Henry working for his salary, but his father was ordered to pay back £3,758 which had been overpaid and to write a letter of apology to the chairman of the committee.
On 2 February 2009, Conway apologised in the House of Commons.
Mr Conway told the Commons he accepted "without any reservation" that he had breached the rules of the House. He withdrew comments made previously in which he accused Labour of using his story to deflect attention from the row over money paid to peers
Cash for Influence
Cash for Influence is the name given by some in the media to a political scandal in the United Kingdom in 2009 concerning four Labour Party Life Peers offering to help make amendments to legislation for up to £120,000...
.
In May 2009 as part of its Disclosure of expenses of British Members of Parliament, the Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
revealed that Conway had claimed the Second Home Allowance on a house in Northumberland 330 miles from his constituency.
Personal life
Conway has been married to Colette Elizabeth Mary Lamb since 1980 and they have two sons and a daughter.Conway was commissioned into the 6th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on April 23, 1968, as part of the reforms of the army that saw the creation of the first 'large infantry regiments', by the amalgamation of the four English fusilier...
(Territorial Army) in 1977. He was promoted Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in 1979 and Captain in 1981. In 1982 he transferred to 5th Battalion, The Light Infantry
The Light Infantry
The Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Light Division. It was formed on 10 July 1968 as a "large regiment" by the amalgamation of the four remaining light infantry regiments of the Light Infantry Brigade:...
. He was promoted Major in 1987, was awarded the Territorial Decoration
Territorial Decoration
The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...
in 1990 and transferred to the Reserve in 1994. He has also been an executive for Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
, a Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
teacher and a charity organiser for the National Fund for Research into Crippling Diseases (1974–1983) and the Cats Protection League (chief executive from 1998 to 2003). He is a Freeman of the City of London.