David Waddington, Baron Waddington

David Charles Waddington, Baron Waddington, GCVO, PC, QC, DL (born 2 August 1929) is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons from 1968 to 1990, and was then made a life peer. He was the government Chief Whip from 1987-89, and served in the Cabinet as Home Secretary from 1989-90 and Leader of the House of Lords from 1990-92. He then served as the Governor of Bermuda from 1992-97.

Early life

Waddington was born in Burnley, Lancashire, and educated at two independent schools in North West England: Cressbrook School in Kirkby Lonsdale (formerly in Westmorland, since 1974 in Cumbria) and Sedbergh School (formerly in the West Riding of Yorkshire and also now, since 1974, in Cumbria). He then went to Hertford College, Oxford, where he became President of the Oxford University Conservative Association and was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn in 1951.

Stefan Kiszko trial

In 1976 Waddington led the defence in the trial of Stefan Kiszko, a case that would become one of the most notorious miscarriages of justice in recent years. The British tax clerk from Rochdale, who was convicted of the murder of 12-year-old Lesley Molseed, would go on to serve 16 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. It is alleged this was because Kiszko's defence team made significant mistakes. Firstly, they did not seek an adjournment when the Crown delivered thousands of pages of additional unused material on the first morning of the trial. Waddington recalls, "the unused material did not include the results of tests on Mr Kiszko's semen which were then in the hands of the Police and showed that Mr Kiszko was not the murderer."

Secondly, it has also been alleged that, in court, Waddington maintained the defence of diminished responsibility which Kiszko had never authorised. Waddington states that this assertion runs counter to what Kiszko's new counsel told the Court of Appeal. Sedley (later Lord Justice Sedley) said that "I am now completely satisfied that advice had been given to Mr Kiszko and his authority properly obtained."^[1]

Kiszko was finally released in 1992 after the Court of Appeal was told forensic evidence showed that he could not have been the murderer. The Court of Appeal was told that Kiszko was incapable of producing the sperm found on the girl's clothing, evidence to this effect being available at the time of the trial but not disclosed to the defence. Coincidentally, Kiszko's appeal was first lodged on the day Waddington was announced as the new Home Secretary in 1989.

Political career

Waddington stood several times for election before finding success. He fought Farnworth at the 1955 general election, Nelson and Colne constituency in 1964, and Heywood and Royton in 1966.

He was first elected to Parliament in 1968 at a by-election in Nelson and Colne caused by the death of Labour MP Sydney Silverman. He was re-elected in 1970 and in February 1974, but lost his seat at the October 1974 general election by a margin of 669 votes to Labour's Doug Hoyle.

He was returned to Parliament for Clitheroe at the by-election in March 1979, and was subsequently elected for the broadly-similar Ribble Valley constituency in 1983.

In government

A junior minister under Margaret Thatcher, Waddington was a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury and Government Whip (1979–81), Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department of Employment (1981–83), Minister of State at the Home Office (1983–87) and Chief Whip from 1987 until his elevation to Cabinet level, becoming Home Secretary in 1989.

Life peer

On 4 December 1990 he was created a life peer as Baron Waddington, of Read in the County of Lancashire.^[2] He served as Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords until 1992. He served as Governor of Bermuda 1992–1997.^[3][4]

In 1994 Lord Waddington was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO).^[5]

In 2008 his amendment to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill, known as the Waddington Amendment, inserted a freedom of speech clause into new anti-homophobic hate crime legislation.^[6]

In 2009 the Government failed to repeal the Waddington Amendment in the Coroners and Justice Bill.^[7][8]

On 26 March 2015 Lord Waddington retired from the House of Lords pursuant to section 1 of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014.^[9]

Personal life

Lord Waddington is currently Chairman of the European Reform Forum.

Arms

References

External links

• Profile on Parliament website
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by David Waddington

Home Secretaries of the United Kingdom
Secretary of State for the Home Department	Shelburne Townshend North Temple Sydney Grenville Dundas Portland Pelham Yorke Hawkesbury Spencer Liverpool Ryder Sidmouth Peel Sturges Bourne Lansdowne Peel Melbourne Duncannon Wellington Goulburn Russell Normanby Graham Grey Walpole Palmerston Grey Walpole Sotheron-Estcourt Lewis Grey Walpole Hardy Bruce Lowe Cross Harcourt Cross Childers Matthews Asquith Ridley Ritchie Akers-Douglas Gladstone Churchill McKenna Simon Samuel Cave Shortt Bridgeman Henderson Joynson-Hicks Clynes Samuel Gilmour Simon Hoare Anderson Morrison Somervell Chuter Ede Maxwell-Fyfe Lloyd George Butler Brooke Soskice Jenkins Callaghan Maudling Carr Jenkins Rees Whitelaw Brittan Hurd Waddington Baker K. Clarke Howard Straw Blunkett C. Clarke Reid Smith Johnson May Rudd

Thatcher Cabinet
Humphrey Atkins Kenneth Baker Lord Belstead John Biffen Leon Brittan Peter Brooke Mark Carlisle Lord Carrington Paul Channon Kenneth Clarke Lord Cockfield Nicholas Edwards Norman Fowler Ian Gilmour Lord Gowrie John Gummer Lord Havers Quintin Hogg Michael Heseltine Michael Howard Sir Geoffrey Howe David Howell David Hunt Douglas Hurd Patrick Jenkin Michael Jopling Keith Joseph Tom King Norman Lamont Nigel Lawson Peter Lilley John MacGregor James Mackay John Major Angus Maude John Moore Tony Newton John Nott Cecil Parkinson Chris Patten Jim Prior Francis Pym Peter Rees Nicholas Ridley Malcolm Rifkind Lord Soames Norman St John-Stevas Norman Tebbit Margaret Thatcher David Waddington John Wakeham William Waldegrave Peter Walker William Whitelaw Lord Young of Graffham George Younger

Major Cabinet
Cabinet Members	Jonathan Aitken Kenneth Baker Virginia Bottomley Peter Brooke Kenneth Clarke Viscount Cranborne Stephen Dorrell Michael Forsyth Roger Freeman John Gummer William Hague Jeremy Hanley Michael Heseltine Douglas Hogg Michael Howard David Hunt Douglas Hurd Tom King Norman Lamont Ian Lang Peter Lilley John MacGregor Lord Mackay John Major Brian Mawhinney Patrick Mayhew David Mellor Tony Newton Chris Patten John Patten Michael Portillo John Redwood Malcolm Rifkind Gillian Shephard Lord Waddington Lord Wakeham William Waldegrave George Young
Also attended meetings	Norman Fowler Alastair Goodlad Richard Ryder