Denis Nowell Pritt (22 September 1887 – 23 May 1972), usually known as D.N. Pritt, was a British barrister and Labour Party politician. Born in Harlesden, Middlesex, he was educated at Winchester College and London University.
A member of the Labour Party from 1918, he was a defender of the Soviet Union under Stalin. In 1932 as part of G. D. H. Cole New Fabian Research Bureau's 'expert commission of enquiry' he visited the Soviet Union, and according to Margaret Cole "the eminent KC swallowed it all".[1] He was thought by George Orwell to be "perhaps the most effective pro-Soviet publicist in this country".[2]
His book, Must the War Spread?, sympathized with the Soviets and led him to be in poor favour with the Labour Party during the war.[3]
Pritt was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Hammersmith North from 1935 to 1940, when he was expelled for defending the Soviet invasion of Finland. In 1945 Pritt was returned as an Independent Labour MP, and in 1949 formed the Labour Independent Group with several other 'Fellow travelers' including John Platts-Mills and Konni Zilliacus, who had both also been expelled from the Labour Party for pro-Soviet sympathies. In 1950 Pritt lost his seat in that year's General Election.
Pritt was awarded the 1954 International Stalin Peace Prize and in 1957 became an honorary citizen of Leipzig, which was then in East Germany. He was also awarded the Star of the Völkerfreundschaft (in gold) in October 1965.
As a lawyer, Pritt successfully defended Ho Chi Minh in 1931-32 against a French request for his extradition from Hong Kong. His most high-profile case, which he lost, was defending the Kapenguria Six, a group of Kenyan political figures accused in 1952 of Mau Mau links (Jomo Kenyatta, Bildad Kaggia, Kung’u Karumba, Fred Kubai, Paul Ngei and Achieng Oneko). In this case, Pritt worked with a team of Kenyan and other African and Indian lawyers including Achhroo Kapila and Fitz De Souza. Dennis Pritt Road in Nairobi is named after him.
He died in 1972 in Barn End, Basingstoke, Hampshire.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Fielding West |
Member of Parliament for Hammersmith North 1935 – 1950 |
Succeeded by Frank Tomney |