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Leon Brittan

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Person.png Leon Brittan  Rdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
(lawyer, politician)
Leon Brittan.jpg
Born1939-09-25
North London, England
Died2015-01-21 (Age 75)
London, England
NationalityUK
Alma materTrinity College (Cambridge)
ReligionJudaism
SpouseDiana Clemetson
Member ofThe Other Club, Trilateral Commission
PartyConservative

Employment.png Vice-President of the European Commission Wikipedia-icon.png

In office
16 March 1999 - 15 September 1999

Employment.png European Commissioner for External Relations Wikipedia-icon.png

In office
23 January 1995 - 15 September 1999
Succeeded byChris Patten

Employment.png European Commissioner for Trade Wikipedia-icon.png

In office
6 January 1993 - 15 September 1999
Preceded byFrans Andriessen

Employment.png European Commissioner for Competition Wikipedia-icon.png

In office
6 January 1989 - 6 January 1993
Preceded byPeter Sutherland
Succeeded byKarel van Miert

Employment.png Secretary of State for Trade and Industry link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary_of_State_for_Business, _Energy_and_Industrial_Strategy

In office
2 September 1985 - 24 January 1986
Preceded byNorman Tebbit
Succeeded byPaul Channon

Employment.png Home Secretary Wikipedia-icon.png

In office
11 June 1983 - 2 September 1985
Preceded byWilliam Whitelaw
Succeeded byDouglas Hurd

Employment.png Chief Secretary to the Treasury Wikipedia-icon.png

In office
5 January 1981 - 11 June 1983
Preceded byJohn Biffen
Succeeded byPeter Rees

Employment.png Minister of State for the Home Office

In office
4 May 1979 - 5 January 1981

Employment.png Member of Parliament for Richmond (Yorks)

In office
9 June 1983 - 31 December 1988

Employment.png Member of Parliament for Cleveland and Whitby

In office
28 February 1974 - 9 June 1983

Leon Brittan, Conservative peer and former European Commissioner, was publicly named in July 2015 as being involved in the VIPaedophile Child Abuse Inquiry as a result of allegations made by fantasist Carl Beech.[1]

In February 2013, Scotland Yard commanders were briefed by the detective chief inspector in charge of the Metropolitan Police Service’s paedophile unit, who outlined his intention to arrest and charge Lord Brittan. The senior detective said that his team was still at an early stage of its investigations, but had already gathered a good deal of evidence that the ex-minister had sexually abused boys. In addition, one woman had told detectives that Lord Brittan raped her when she was a young woman. Exaro does not have a list of who attended the briefing, but the commanders had asked to be updated on where the highly sensitive investigations (Operation Fairbank and Operation Fernbridge) were going. Sources involved in the investigations have expressed fears to Exaro that they will be closed down, as has happened in the past.[2]

A year later, Labour MP Tom Watson named Lord Brittan as the former cabinet minister who allegedly raped a young woman – identified only as Jane – in an explosive letter to Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders, while suggesting that the police were unwilling to investigate him properly because of his status.[3] In June 2014, Brittan was interviewed under caution by police in connection with the alleged rape of a 19-year-old student in his central London flat in 1967, before he became an MP. They had not pursued the allegation when it was first made, on the grounds of insufficient evidence. The police reopened the investigation after Alison Saunders had been lobbied by Tom Watson to investigate further. In a statement on 7 July 2014, Brittan denied the claims.[4]

In October 2014, the Labour MP Jimmy Hood used parliamentary privilege to refer to claims that Lord Brittan had been linked to child abuse. After Brittan died in January 2015, Watson accused him of "multiple child rape"; he said he had spoken to two people who claimed they were abused by Brittan.[5]

On 1 September 2017 it was reported that the Metropolitan Police had paid substantial compensation to Lord Brittan's widow for having raided their home "after accepting that the searches had been unjustified and should never have taken place."[6] Carl Beech, whose claims spurred Operation Midland, was convicted of making up the allegations in July 2019.[7]

In January 2020, on Sky News, Watson explained:

“I was doing my very best to try and give very vulnerable people their voice in the criminal justice system.”

He said Lady Brittan had refused to accept his apology.[8]

 

Events Participated in

EventStartEndLocation(s)Description
Bilderberg/199221 May 199224 May 1992France
Royal Club Evian
Evian-les-Bains
The 40th Bilderberg. It had 121 participants.
Bilderberg/199814 May 199817 May 1998Scotland
Turnberry
The 46th Bilderberg meeting, held in Scotland, chaired by Peter Carrington
WEF/Annual Meeting/200421 January 200425 January 2004World Economic Forum
Switzerland
2068 billionaires, CEOs and their politicians and "civil society" leaders met under the slogan Partnering for Prosperity and Security. "We have the people who matter," said World Economic Forum Co-Chief Executive Officer José María Figueres.
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References