George Wigg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

George Edward Cecil Wigg, Baron Wigg (November 28, 1900 – August 11, 1983) was a British politician who only served in relatively junior offices but had a great deal of influence behind the scenes, especially with Harold Wilson. Wigg served in the British Army for almost all his career up to his election as Member of Parliament for Dudley in 1945. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Emanuel Shinwell during the Attlee government.

According to veteran Press Association reporter Chris Moncrieff, Wigg was unpopular with Labour MPs [1] but managed mischievously to use procedure to place the Profumo affair on the record in Parliament and led the pursuit of Profumo which resulted in his resignation.

Wigg was already known for passing on gossip to Labour leader Harold Wilson, and when Labour won the 1964 election Wilson appointed Wigg as Paymaster-General. This was a cover as his real responsibilities were many and varied. He was Wilson's link to the Security Service and the Secret Intelligence Service. In November 1967, he was appointed Chairman of the Horserace Betting Levy Board (Wigg loved horse racing) and left Parliament with a life peerage as Baron Wigg, of the Borough of Dudley.

He had been made a Privy Councillor in 1964.