John Whittingdale
Encyclopedia
John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale OBE
, (born October 16, 1959), is a Conservative
politician in the United Kingdom
. He has been a Member of Parliament
(MP) since 1992.
from 1968–1973, in Rushmore Park at the heart of Cranborne Chase
near Tollard Royal
in Wiltshire
and at Winchester College
in the county town
of Winchester
in Hampshire
, followed by University College London
(UCL) where he was Chairman of the UCL Conservative Association, and earned his BSc
in Economics in 1982 (grade 2ii).
, 1984-5; Leon Brittan, 1985-6, and Paul Channon
, 1986-7. He worked on international privatisation at NM Rothschild in 1987 and in January 1988, became Political Secretary to the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher
. Upon her resignation, Whittingdale received the OBE
and he continued as her Political Secretary until his election to Parliament in 1992.
He was later shadow
Culture, Media and Sport Secretary from 2004 until the reshuffle after the general election in 2005
when he was re-elected Member of Parliament
for Maldon and Chelmsford East. In 2005 he was appointed to the Executive of Conservative Way Forward
, a Thatcherite pressure group within the Conservative Party
. He is on a member of the Council of the Freedom Association and the European Foundation. In 2008, he was elected as a Parliamentary Member of the Board of the Conservative Party and Vice Chairman of the Conservative Parliamentary 1922 Committee. In 2011 he was Chair of the Football Governance Inquiry
.
. In this role he led the Committee's 2009/2010 investigation into libel and privacy issues, including the News of the World phone hacking affair
after the Guardian first revealed the extent of the practice at the News of the World. He was accused of warning members of the committe not to compel former News of the World
editor Rebekah Brooks to testify due to the risk that their personal lives would be investigated in revenge, but has strongly denied the accusation. Allegations that his previous support for News International and Murdoch had a financial basis have also been denied.
In April 2011, he called for a public inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World
and to why a series of investigations by Scotland Yard
failed to link any News International employees to phone hacking other than the News of the World's former royal editor, Clive Goodman
. Whittingdale said: "There are some very big questions. What I find [most] worrying is the apparent unwillingness of the police, who had the evidence and chose to do nothing with it. That's something that needs to be looked into."
With just one out of three of the senior executives agreeing to appear before the committee session on 19 July, Whittingdale took the rarely used step of issuing a summons to compel the Murdochs to attend. Whittingdale said select committees had taken such steps against individuals in the past and they had complied and continued "I hope very much that the Murdochs will respond similarly." They both did, on 19 July, in what one paper described as the most important select committee hearing in parliament's history.
in Colchester
. They have two children. The marriage was dissolved in 2007.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, (born October 16, 1959), is 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...
politician in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He has been 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) since 1992.
Education
Whittingdale was educated at two independent schools: at Sandroyd SchoolSandroyd School
Sandroyd School is an independent co-educational preparatory school for both day and boarding pupils in Rushmore Park, near the village of Tollard Royal in Wiltshire.- Introduction :...
from 1968–1973, in Rushmore Park at the heart of Cranborne Chase
Cranborne Chase
Cranborne Chase is a Chalk plateau in central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. The plateau is part of the English Chalk Formation and is adjacent to Salisbury Plain and the West Wiltshire Downs in the north, the Dorset Downs to the south west and the...
near Tollard Royal
Tollard Royal
Tollard Royal is a village and civil parish on Cranborne Chase, Wiltshire, England. The parish is on Wiltshire's southern boundary with Dorset and the village is southeast of the Dorset town of Shaftesbury....
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
and 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...
in the county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
in 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...
, followed by University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
(UCL) where he was Chairman of the UCL Conservative Association, and earned his BSc
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in Economics in 1982 (grade 2ii).
Early life
From 1982-4, Whittingdale was Head of the political section of the Conservative Research Department. He then served as Special Adviser to three successive Secretaries of State for Trade and Industry, Norman TebbitNorman Tebbit
Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit, CH, PC , is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment...
, 1984-5; Leon Brittan, 1985-6, and Paul Channon
Paul Channon
Henry Paul Guinness Channon, Baron Kelvedon, PC , was Conservative MP for Southend West for 38 years, from 1959 until 1997...
, 1986-7. He worked on international privatisation at NM Rothschild in 1987 and in January 1988, became Political Secretary to the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
. Upon her resignation, Whittingdale received the OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
and he continued as her Political Secretary until his election to Parliament in 1992.
Parliamentary career
He was first elected to parliament in 1992. He served as PPS to Eric Forth as Minister of State for Education and Employment, but had to resign after voting against the government on an amendment that would have allowed a media publisher with more than 20 per cent of the national press market to buy an ITV company.He was later shadow
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
Culture, Media and Sport Secretary from 2004 until the reshuffle after the general election 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....
when he was re-elected 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,...
for Maldon and Chelmsford East. In 2005 he was appointed to the Executive of Conservative Way Forward
Conservative Way Forward
Conservative Way Forward is a British campaigning group that operates within the Conservative Party. It is a Thatcherite group in outlook and agenda, and Baroness Thatcher herself is the President....
, a Thatcherite pressure group within the 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...
. He is on a member of the Council of the Freedom Association and the European Foundation. In 2008, he was elected as a Parliamentary Member of the Board of the Conservative Party and Vice Chairman of the Conservative Parliamentary 1922 Committee. In 2011 he was Chair of the Football Governance Inquiry
Football Governance Inquiry
The Football Governance Inquiry is an ongoing British public inquiry into the governance of football in the United Kingdom. The inquiry was announced on 7 December 2010....
.
Media Select Committee
On 14 July 2005, he became the Chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Select CommitteeCulture, Media and Sport Select Committee
The Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee is one of the Select Committees of the British House of Commons, established in 1997. It oversees the operations of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport which replaced the Department for National Heritage....
. In this role he led the Committee's 2009/2010 investigation into libel and privacy issues, including the News of the World phone hacking affair
News of the World phone hacking affair
The News International phone-hacking scandal is an ongoing controversy involving mainly the News of the World but also other British tabloid newspapers published by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation. Employees of the newspaper were accused of engaging in phone hacking, police...
after the Guardian first revealed the extent of the practice at the News of the World. He was accused of warning members of the committe not to compel former News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
editor Rebekah Brooks to testify due to the risk that their personal lives would be investigated in revenge, but has strongly denied the accusation. Allegations that his previous support for News International and Murdoch had a financial basis have also been denied.
In April 2011, he called for a public inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
and to why a series of investigations by Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
failed to link any News International employees to phone hacking other than the News of the World's former royal editor, Clive Goodman
Clive Goodman
Clive Goodman is a former royal editor and reporter for the News of the World. He was arrested in August 2006 and jailed in January 2007 for intercepting mobile phone messages involving members of the Royal Household.Goodman initially worked as a journalist on Nigel Dempster's gossip column in the...
. Whittingdale said: "There are some very big questions. What I find [most] worrying is the apparent unwillingness of the police, who had the evidence and chose to do nothing with it. That's something that needs to be looked into."
With just one out of three of the senior executives agreeing to appear before the committee session on 19 July, Whittingdale took the rarely used step of issuing a summons to compel the Murdochs to attend. Whittingdale said select committees had taken such steps against individuals in the past and they had complied and continued "I hope very much that the Murdochs will respond similarly." They both did, on 19 July, in what one paper described as the most important select committee hearing in parliament's history.
Personal life
He married Ancilla Murfitt in 1990 who is a practice nurse at a general practiceGeneral practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
in Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
. They have two children. The marriage was dissolved in 2007.
External links
News items
- TV licence in March 2005
- Flood defences in October 2004
- UK fishing industry in January 2004
- BBC digital services in August 2003
- BBC's future in May 2003