| The Right Honourable The Lord Waddington GCVO DL QC PC |
|
|---|---|
| Governor of Bermuda | |
| In office 11 April 1992 – 2 May 1997 |
|
| Premier | John Swan David Saul Pamela Gordon |
| Preceded by | Desmond Langley |
| Succeeded by | Thorold Masefield |
| Leader of the House of Lords Lord Privy Seal |
|
| In office 28 November 1990 – 11 April 1992 |
|
| Prime Minister | John Major |
| Preceded by | The Lord Belstead |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Wakeham |
| Home Secretary | |
| In office 26 October 1989 – 28 November 1990 |
|
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Douglas Hurd |
| Succeeded by | Kenneth Baker |
| Chief Whip of the House of Commons Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury |
|
| In office 13 June 1987 – 24 July 1989 |
|
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | John Wakeham |
| Succeeded by | Tim Renton |
| Member of Parliament for Ribble Valley |
|
| In office 9 June 1983 – 28 November 1990 |
|
| Preceded by | Constituency Created |
| Succeeded by | Michael Carr |
| Member of Parliament for Clitheroe |
|
| In office 1 March 1979 – 9 June 1983 |
|
| Preceded by | David Walder |
| Succeeded by | Constituency Abolished |
| Member of Parliament for Nelson and Colne |
|
| In office 27 June 1968 – 10 October 1974 |
|
| Preceded by | Sydney Silverman |
| Succeeded by | Doug Hoyle |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 August 1929 Burnley, United Kingdom |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | Hertford College, Oxford Gray's Inn |
| Religion | Anglican |
David Charles Waddington, Baron Waddington, GCVO, DL, QC, PC (born 2 August 1929), is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons from 1968 to 1990, and was then made a life peer. He was the government Chief Whip from 1986 to 1989, and served in the Cabinet as Home Secretary from 1989 to 1990 and Leader of the House of Lords from 1990 to 1992. He then served as the Governor of Bermuda from 1992 to 1997.
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Waddington was born in Burnley, Lancashire, and educated at two independent schools in North West England: Cressbrook School in Kirkby Lonsdale (formerly in Westmorland, since 1974 in Cumbria) and Sedbergh School (formerly in the West Riding of Yorkshire and also now, since 1974, in Cumbria). He then went to Hertford College, Oxford, where he became President of the Oxford University Conservative Association and was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn in 1951.
In 1976, Waddington led the defence in the trial of Stefan Kiszko, a case that would become one of the most notorious miscarriages of justice in recent years. The British tax clerk from Rochdale, who was convicted of the murder of 12-year-old Lesley Molseed, would go on to serve 16 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. This was because Kiszko's defence team made significant mistakes. Firstly, they did not seek an adjournment when the Crown delivered thousands of pages of additional unused material on the first morning of the trial. Secondly, in court, Waddington maintained the inconsistent defence of diminished responsibility which Kiszko had never authorised.[1] Kiszko was finally released in 1992 after the Court of Appeal was told forensic evidence showed that he could not have been the murderer. Coincidentally, Kiszko's appeal was first lodged on the day Waddington was announced as the new Home Secretary in 1989.
He was first elected to Parliament in 1968, at a by-election in the Nelson and Colne constituency caused by the death of Labour MP Sydney Silverman. He was re-elected in 1970 and in February 1974, but lost his seat at the October 1974 general election, by a margin of 669 votes to Labour's Doug Hoyle.
He was returned to Parliament at the by-election in March 1979 for Clitheroe, the constituency being renamed Ribble Valley in 1983.
A junior minister under Margaret Thatcher, Waddington was Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department of Employment (1981–83), Minister of State at the Home Office (1983–87) and Chief Whip from 1987 until his elevation to Cabinet level, becoming Home Secretary in 1989.
In 1990 he was created a life peer as Baron Waddington, of Read in the County of Lancashire. He served as Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords until 1992. He served as Governor of Bermuda 1992–1997.[2]
In 2008 his amendment to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill, known as the Waddington Amendment, inserted a freedom of speech clause into new anti-homophobic hate crime legislation.[3] In 2009 the Government failed to repeal the Waddington Amendment in the Coroners and Justice Bill.[4][5]
Lord Waddington is currently Chairman of the European Reform Forum.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sydney Silverman |
Member of Parliament for Nelson and Colne 1968–1974 |
Succeeded by Doug Hoyle |
| Preceded by David Walder |
Member of Parliament for Clitheroe 1979–1983 |
Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Ribble Valley 1983–1990 |
Succeeded by Michael Carr |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by John Wakeham |
Chief Whip of the House of Commons 1986–1989 |
Succeeded by Timothy Renton |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 1986–1989 |
||
| Preceded by Douglas Hurd |
Home Secretary 1989–1990 |
Succeeded by Kenneth Baker |
| Preceded by The Lord Belstead |
Leader of the House of Lords 1990–1992 |
Succeeded by The Lord Wakeham |
| Lord Privy Seal 1990–1992 |
||
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by The Lord Belstead |
Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords 1990–1992 |
Succeeded by The Lord Wakeham |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by Desmond Langley |
Governor of Bermuda 1992–1997 |
Succeeded by Thorold Masefield |
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