David Trefgarne

David Trefgarne
Born	31 March 1941
Alma mater	Haileybury and Imperial Service College
Minister for Defence Procurement In office 21 May 1986 - 24 July 1989 Preceded by Norman Lamont Succeeded by Alan Clark British hereditary lord and Conservative politician

David Garro Trefgarne, 2nd Baron Trefgarne is a British Conservative politician.

Career

Trefgarne succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Trefgarne in 1960 at the age of 19, having attended Haileybury and Imperial Service College. He took his seat in the House of Lords on his 21st birthday in 1962. In contrast to his father, who was a Liberal and later Labour politician, he chose to sit on the Conservative benches. Trefgarne was an opposition Whip from 1977 to 1979 and then served in the Conservative administration of Margaret Thatcher as a Government Whip from 1979 to 1981 Trefgarne was a director of Balli Group Plc at the same time as fellow UK Tory politician, Norman Lamont. Lord Trefgarne is still a member of the House of Lords as one of the ninety hereditary peers elected by their colleagues to remain after the passing of the House of Lords Act of 1999. He has since blocked further reform of the Lords, tabling 'wrecking' amendments to a draft Bill to abolish by-elections for hereditary peers.

Later Activities

In 1997, he declared himself to be "an adviser to a French aerospace company and a director of a British engineering company".

Blackmailing Libya

In September 2011, The Scotsman reported that Robert Black and Tory peer David Trefgarne had been blackmailing Libya over the "work" they claimed to have done to secure the release in August 2009 of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who was convicted in January 2001 for the December 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

Details of a claim for "fees owed" for advice to the Libyans ahead of Megrahi's appeal case were reportedly uncovered in an abandoned farmhouse in the outskirts of Tripoli. The note (dated 4 June 2007 - 24 days before publication of the SCCRC report) from Lord Trefgarne said while the £940,000 fee "may seem a large sum" it covered "nine years' work".

In a joint statement, Lord Trefgarne and Prof Black said that in 1993 they began working towards unblocking the "impasse" that was preventing Megrahi's trial taking place because Libya refused to extradite him to Scotland or the United States. The statement added:

"Over the course of the next six years, Lord Trefgarne and Professor Black worked strenuously to secure acceptance of the neutral venue scheme that Robert Black formulated in early 1994.

"No payment was sought or received for these endeavours. It was only after Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi's conviction at Camp Zeist in January 2001 and Professor Black had publicly expressed the strong view that that conviction was legally unwarranted, that an agreement was entered into with his lawyer, Dr Ibrahim Legwell, that Lord Trefgarne and Robert Black should receive payment for future political and legal advice on avenues of appeal. In the event, the only sum actually paid barely covered expenses. Lord Trefgarne and Professor Black again emphasise that this was an entirely proper arrangement reflecting the circumstances of the time.

"Lord Trefgarne did declare this matter in the House of Lords Register in accordance with the rules then in force."

But Dumfries & Galloway Labour MP Russell Brown said the public would be "surprised" to hear of Lord Trefgarne's claim.

"Lord Trefgarne was one of the people who lobbied the SNP to release the Lockerbie bomber just days before Kenny MacAskill visited the terrorist in jail," he said.

"Now it seems he was in the pay of the Libyans."

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