Keith Best

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Keith Lander Best (born 10 June 1949) was Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Anglesey from 1979 (when he gained the seat from Labour) to 1983, and for (the renamed) Ynys Môn from 1983 to 1987. He was personal assistant to the Secretary of State for Wales from 1981 to 1984.

Best was born in Brighton and educated at Keble College, Oxford, before becoming a barrister in 1973. He served in the Territorial Army Royal Artillery 1967–1989, reaching the rank of Major, and as a Brighton Borough councillor 1976–1980.

After his election to Parliament, Best's reputation began to suffer when he was involved in a road accident in which his personal assistant was killed, although he was cleared of responsibility for the crash. He eventually stood down after admitting fraud; during the privatisation of British Telecom, individuals were limited to one allocation of shares. Best was prosecuted and found to have submitted many applications by using minor variations of his name.

On September 30, 1987, he was sentenced to four months imprisonment and fined £3000. However, on October 5th of that year, the Court of Appeals ruled that the jail portion of his sentence was too harsh, and Best was released. However, his fine was increased to £4500.^[1] His successor as MP for Ynys Mon was Plaid Cymru candidate Ieuan Wyn Jones.

In 2000, Best failed in a bid for re-selection by the Conservative Party in Anglesey. In 1987, he was chosen as the chair of the executive committee of the World Federalist Movement. He was director of Prisoners Abroad 1989-93. In 1993, he became chief executive of the Immigration Advisory Service. In 2003, he was named by The Guardian as one of the 100 most influential people in public services in the UK.

[edit] References

1. ^ The World Book Encyclopedia Yearbook, 1988, Pg.523

• Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1987
• Chronicle of the 20th Century
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Cledwyn Hughes	Member of Parliament for Ynys Môn 1979–1987	Succeeded by Ieuan Wyn Jones