Henry Brooke, Baron Brooke of Cumnor
Encyclopedia
Henry Brooke, Baron Brooke of Cumnor CH
, PC (9 April 1903 – 29 March 1984) was a British Conservative Party
politician.
in 1929. He was elected as a Conservative Member of Parliament
(MP) for Lewisham West in a 1938 by-election
. He was an ardent defender of Neville Chamberlain
in the debate of May 1940, just before the prime minister's fall from power, and Brooke himself was defeated in the 1945 general election
. That same year he was elected to the London County Council
, and served as Conservative leader on the council until 1951, continuing to serve on the Council and the Hampstead
borough council until 1955.
Brooke returned to parliament in 1950, and entered Winston Churchill's
government in 1954 as Financial Secretary to the Treasury
. He continued in this job until 1957, when he became Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister of Welsh Affairs in the Macmillan
government, entering the Cabinet, and in 1961 he became the first Chief Secretary to the Treasury
. In 1962 he reached his highest level in government, becoming Home Secretary
following Harold Macmillan
's "Night of the Long Knives
" when many senior ministers were sacked. As Home Secretary
, Brooke was not particularly successful, and his actions caused controversy on several occasions, including a failure to provide adequate security for a state visit
by King Paul
and Queen Frederica of Greece
. Brooke indeed is widely regarded as one of the worst Home Secretaries of the twentieth century.
Further ignominy was piled on Brooke after his initial reaction to the case of Carmen Bryan became widely known in 1962. Bryan was a 22 year old Jamaican woman and first offender, who pleaded guilty to petty larceny (shoplifting goods worth £2) and was recommended for deportation
by Paddington
magistrates. Brooke's acquiescence to the court order
and her six week detention in Holloway Prison pending deportation, was seen widely as both unnecessary and unjust. Neither bail
or the opportunity for her to appeal
were offered directly to her. Standing firm, Brooke told the House of Commons, "I think it would be a great act of injustice if I were to stand in the way of her returning to Jamaica. I am not prepared to look at this case again". However, Parliamentary outrage and the media spotlight combined to force a speedy review where, four days later, Brooke recanted, freeing Bryan and allowing her to remain. Deportations for misdemeanours were subsequently suspended. There had been more than eighty recommendations for deportation in the seven weeks following the Conservative Government's
introduction of the tendentious Commonwealth Immigrants Act (1962)
.
Brooke was one of many politicians to receive unprecedented criticism on That Was The Week That Was
on BBC Television
in 1962-63, which called him "the most hated man in Britain" and ended a mock profile of him with the phrase "If you're Home Secretary, you can get away with murder". He was also involved in the passage of various new anti-drug laws, including ones banning possession of amphetamines and the growing of cannabis
. As the final arbiter in death penalty cases he was the last Home Secretary to allow a death sentence to go ahead. Brooke went into opposition following the Conservative defeat in 1964
, and he lost his seat in the subsequent election in 1966
. He was created a life peer as Baron Brooke of Cumnor, of Cumnor in the Royal County of Berks
in that year, but largely retired from public life.
Brooke married Barbara Muriel
, daughter of Reverend Alfred Augustus Mathews, in 1933. As she was made a life peer
too, they were one of the few couples who both held titles in their own right. Their eldest son, Peter Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, also served as a Conservative
Member of Parliament
and Secretary of State
, while their second son Sir Henry Brooke
became a Lord Justice of Appeal
. The couple also had two daughters. Knighted in 1960, Dame Barbara Brooke was created a life peer in her own right in 1964. Lord Brooke of Cumnor died from Parkinson's disease
in March 1984, aged 80. His wife died in September 2000, aged 92.
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
, PC (9 April 1903 – 29 March 1984) was a British 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...
politician.
Political career
Brooke became a founder of the Conservative Research DepartmentConservative Research Department
The Conservative Research Department is part of the central organisation of the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom. It operates alongside other departments of Conservative Campaign Headquarters at 30 Millbank, London SW1....
in 1929. He was elected as a Conservative 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 Lewisham West in a 1938 by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
. He was an ardent defender of Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
in the debate of May 1940, just before the prime minister's fall from power, and Brooke himself was defeated in the 1945 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
. That same year he was elected to the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
, and served as Conservative leader on the council until 1951, continuing to serve on the Council and the Hampstead
Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead
The Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras and the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn to form the London Borough of Camden....
borough council until 1955.
Brooke returned to parliament in 1950, and entered Winston Churchill's
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
government in 1954 as Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a junior Ministerial post in the British Treasury. It is the 4th most significant Ministerial role within the Treasury after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the Paymaster General...
. He continued in this job until 1957, when he became Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister of Welsh Affairs in the Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
government, entering the Cabinet, and in 1961 he became the first Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is the third most senior ministerial position in HM Treasury, after the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer . In recent years, the office holder has usually been given a junior position in the British Cabinet...
. In 1962 he reached his highest level in government, becoming Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
following Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
's "Night of the Long Knives
Night of the Long Knives (1962)
The epithet Night of the Long Knives is given to July 13, 1962, when the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan sacked the following members of his Cabinet:*Lord Kilmuir — Lord Chancellor*Selwyn Lloyd — Chancellor of the Exchequer...
" when many senior ministers were sacked. As Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
, Brooke was not particularly successful, and his actions caused controversy on several occasions, including a failure to provide adequate security for a state visit
State visit
A state visit is a formal visit by a foreign head of state to another nation, at the invitation of that nation's head of state. State visits are the highest form of diplomatic contact between two nations, and are marked by ceremonial pomp and diplomatic protocol. In parliamentary democracies, heads...
by King Paul
Paul of Greece
Paul reigned as King of Greece from 1947 to 1964.-Family and early life:Paul was born in Athens, the third son of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia. He was trained as a naval officer....
and Queen Frederica of Greece
Frederika of Hanover
Frederica of Hanover was Queen consort of the Hellenes as the wife of King Paul of Greece.-Early life:...
. Brooke indeed is widely regarded as one of the worst Home Secretaries of the twentieth century.
Further ignominy was piled on Brooke after his initial reaction to the case of Carmen Bryan became widely known in 1962. Bryan was a 22 year old Jamaican woman and first offender, who pleaded guilty to petty larceny (shoplifting goods worth £2) and was recommended for deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
by Paddington
Paddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
magistrates. Brooke's acquiescence to the court order
Court order
A court order is an official proclamation by a judge that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out of certain steps by one or more parties to a case...
and her six week detention in Holloway Prison pending deportation, was seen widely as both unnecessary and unjust. Neither bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
or the opportunity for her to appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
were offered directly to her. Standing firm, Brooke told the House of Commons, "I think it would be a great act of injustice if I were to stand in the way of her returning to Jamaica. I am not prepared to look at this case again". However, Parliamentary outrage and the media spotlight combined to force a speedy review where, four days later, Brooke recanted, freeing Bryan and allowing her to remain. Deportations for misdemeanours were subsequently suspended. There had been more than eighty recommendations for deportation in the seven weeks following the Conservative Government's
Conservative Government 1957-1964
In January 1957 Sir Anthony Eden resigned from his positions of Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. This was mainly a consequence of the Suez Crisis fiasco of the previous autumn but also due to his increasingly failing health...
introduction of the tendentious Commonwealth Immigrants Act (1962)
Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962
The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.Before the Act was passed, citizens of British commonwealth countries had extensive rights to migrate to the UK...
.
Brooke was one of many politicians to receive unprecedented criticism on That Was The Week That Was
That Was The Week That Was
That Was The Week That Was, also known as TW3, is a satirical television comedy programme that was shown on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced and directed by Ned Sherrin and presented by David Frost...
on BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
in 1962-63, which called him "the most hated man in Britain" and ended a mock profile of him with the phrase "If you're Home Secretary, you can get away with murder". He was also involved in the passage of various new anti-drug laws, including ones banning possession of amphetamines and the growing of cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
. As the final arbiter in death penalty cases he was the last Home Secretary to allow a death sentence to go ahead. Brooke went into opposition following the Conservative defeat in 1964
United Kingdom general election, 1964
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
, and he lost his seat in the subsequent election in 1966
United Kingdom general election, 1966
The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs...
. He was created a life peer as Baron Brooke of Cumnor, of Cumnor in the Royal County of Berks
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
in that year, but largely retired from public life.
Family
Brooke was the younger son of the English writer Leonard Leslie Brooke, and his wife Sybil Diana Brooke. Their only other child, his elder brother, died in World War 1.Brooke married Barbara Muriel
Barbara Brooke, Baroness Brooke of Ystradfellte
Barbara Brooke, Baroness Brooke of Ystradfellte and Baroness Brooke of Cumnor DBE was a British Conservative politician.-Personal life:...
, daughter of Reverend Alfred Augustus Mathews, in 1933. As she was made a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
too, they were one of the few couples who both held titles in their own right. Their eldest son, Peter Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, also served as a Conservative
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...
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,...
and Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
, while their second son Sir Henry Brooke
Henry Brooke (judge)
Sir Henry Brooke is a retired British judge. He became a Lord Justice of Appeal in 1996, and became Vice-President of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales in 2003...
became a Lord Justice of Appeal
Lord Justice of Appeal
A Lord Justice of Appeal is an ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, and represents the second highest level of judge in the courts of England and Wales-Appointment:...
. The couple also had two daughters. Knighted in 1960, Dame Barbara Brooke was created a life peer in her own right in 1964. Lord Brooke of Cumnor died from Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
in March 1984, aged 80. His wife died in September 2000, aged 92.