Ian Lucas

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Ian Colin Lucas (born 18 September 1960, Gateshead) has been the Labour Party Member of Parliament for Wrexham in the United Kingdom since 2001.

He was born and brought up in a council house in Gateshead. He attended Newcastle Royal Grammar School, and won a place at New College, Oxford University to study jurisprudence. He married his wife Norah, a music teacher, in 1986 and has two children.

He became a solicitor practicing in London in 1985, but moved to Wrexham the following year, specialising in criminal and personal injury law. In 1992 he moved the short distance to Oswestry in Shropshire, and formed his own practice. The move was precipitated because of disgreements with his old firm when he had organised protests against cuts in legal aid. In 1986 he joined the Labour Party, and became chairman of the Wrexham branch. He contested the traditionally conservative seat of North Shropshire in the 1997 general election, but was narrowly defeated. He has served as a school governor, and on a local hospital board.

After the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, Ian Lucas represented Trevor Rees-Jones (Diana's bodyguard, and survivor of the crash) in a legal battle with Mohamed Al-Fayed. He was later selected to stand for the UK Parliament in Wrexham, and won the seat in 2001.

In Parliament he has served as a member of the Environmental Audit Select Committee and the Transport Select Committee. He is currently Parliamentary Private Secretary to Bill Rammell MP, Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education. He has also taken an interest in sustainable energy, devolution of powers in Wales, and links with Germany.

He resigned on 6th September 2006, due to the refusal made by Tony Blair to name a date for stepping down as Prime Minister. However, he later refused to confirm or deny whether that was the genuine reason. Fellow Welsh Labour MPs Wayne David and Mark Tami also resigned on the same day.