John Roper, Baron Roper

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John Francis Hodgess Roper, Baron Roper (born 10 September 1935) is a British politician.

John Roper was educated at William Hulme's Grammar School (Manchester), Reading School, Magdalen College, Oxford (studying PPE) and the University of Chicago.

Roper started has career as an economics lecturer at the University of Manchester. He then went into politics and was elected Member of Parliament for Farnworth. He sat as a Labour Co-operative MP (1970–81) and for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) from 1981 to 1983, when he was also the party's Chief Whip.

Since 2000 he has been a Life peer as Baron Roper, of Thorney Island in the City of Westminster. He was the Liberal Democrat Chief Whip in the House of Lords until 2005. He was subsequently appointed to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.

He has controversially been accused by Anthony Glees[1] of being a Stasi "agent of some influence" during his time at Chatham House. [2] Lord Roper rejects the charge indignantly. He says he was engaged in building bridges with East Germany in the 1980s as part of a Foreign Office-approved policy of thawing relations.

"He was deceived, he says, about the background of an undercover Stasi officer he employed as a research fellow when he was director of studies at Chatham House." [3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "History on the rack", The Guardian, July 5, 2003
  2. ^ "The Stasi spy (cont)" by Anthony Glees, The Guardian, June 14, 2003
  3. ^ "The history men fall out over tales of spying, betrayal and buffoonery" by David Leigh, The Guardian, June 11, 2003

[edit] External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Ernest Thornton		 Member of Parliament for Farnworth
1970–1983		 Succeeded by
(constituency abolished)


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