Beverley Hughes
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Beverley June Hughes (born March 30, 1950) is a British politician, and member of Parliament for Stretford and Urmston (in Greater Manchester). She is a member of the governing Labour Party and a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom since 2004. Since 17 June 2005 she has been Minister of State (Children, Young People and Families) at the Department for Education and Skills.
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[edit] Early life and education
Beverley Hughes was born in Ellesmere Port in 1950 and was educated at Ellesmere Port Girl’s Grammar School. She moved to Flixton in 1976, and has lived there ever since.
Ms Hughes studied for a Bachelors Degree in Social Science at the University of Manchester, graduating in 1971. After graduation she continued her studies at the University of Manchester, carrying out postgraduate research into the care of people with schizophrenia, for which she was awarded a Master of Science degree in 1978.
Ms Hughes then undertook postgraduate professional training at Liverpool University and subsequently worked as a probation officer in Merseyside for a short time.
From 1978 - 1997 Ms Hughes worked first as a lecturer and then a senior lecturer in the Department of Social Policy at the University of Manchester, a department that she became the head of in 1994.
[edit] Political career
Beverley Hughes' political career began with her election to Trafford Borough Council in 1986. She quickly established herself as a competent politician and was appointed leader of the council's Labour Group in 1992. She became Trafford Borough Council Leader in 1995 until her election to the UK Parliament in the United Kingdom general election, 1997.
From June 1997 to July 1998 she was a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee, until she was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Hilary Armstrong, Minister for Local Government and Housing. In July 1999 she was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
In 2001 Beverley was appointed the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prisons and Probation in the Home Office.
In 2002 Ms Hughes was appointed Minister of State for Immigration, Citizenship and Counter Terrorism, but was forced to resign after it emerged that Romanian and Bulgarian nationals were being given British visas even though their applications were supported by false documents.[1]
She was re-appointed into government after the 2005 general election as the Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families in the Department for Education and Skills.
Ms Hughes was the target of much ridicule in July 2001 after she'd toured the media denouncing an edition of the Channel 4 television show Brass Eye as being unbelievably sick, and then subsequently admitting that she'd never seen it.
She is married to Thomas McDonald and has three grown up children.
[edit] Visa scam and resignation
On 1st April 2004, Beverley Hughes was forced to resign her position of Minister of State for Immigration, Citizenship and Counter Terrorism when it was shown that she had been informed of procedural improprieties concerning the granting of visas to certain categories of workers from Eastern Europe - she had earlier told the House of Commons that if she had been aware of such facts she would have done something about it. Ms Hughes had dismissed calls to quit, saying she had not known of the claims.
Upon resignation No 10 have allegedly been quoted as saying that she had been warned about the problem up to a year previously. Ms Hughes said she had not set out to "intentionally mislead anyone", but she could not "in conscience continue to serve as immigration minister".[2]
The prime minister replaced Ms Hughes with Work and Pensions Minister Des Browne.
