Oliver McGregor
 Oliver McGregor    (sociologist) | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 August 1921 Durris, Kincardineshire, Scotland |
| Died | 10 November 1997 (Age 76) London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | London School of Economics |
| Member of | Königswinter/Speakers |
British sociologist and university teacher who became leader of the Advertising Standards Authority and the Press Complaints Commission. | |
Oliver Ross McGregor, Baron McGregor of Durris was a British sociologist and university teacher who became a life peer in 1978, and leader of the Advertising Standards Authority and the Press Complaints Commission.
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Background
McGregor, the son of a Scottish leasehold farmers (Tenant Farmer), occurred at the beginning of the Second world war, volunteered his military service as a gunner in before he seconded to the War Office, as well as in the Ministry of Agriculture. After demobilisation he studied economic history at the London School of Economics (LSE) with honors.[1]
Career
His professional career began in 1945 first as an Assistant Lecturer and then as a Lecturer in economic history at the University of Hull, before 1947 as a Lecturer at the Bedford College of the University of London, where he taught until 1960.
In his first important book, Divorce in England (1957) took a critical analysis of the results of Royal Commission on Marriage and Divorce, and brought a number of radical proposals for reform of the divorce law.
During this time he also worked between 1959 and 1960 as a research scientist (Simon Senior Research Fellow) at the University of Manchester and was Reader at the University of London from 1960 to 1964. Professor at the University of London
In 1964, McGregor took a professorship at the University of London and taught there until 1985. At the same time he was between 1964 and 1977, and head of the Department of sociology of the Bedford College. In this function, he acquired a group of outstanding scholars, in particular in the areas of socio-legal studies and medical sociology.[1]
In 1970 there appeared, under his co-authorship, the title of Separated Spouses, the first nationwide representative survey of the jurisdiction of the magistrate courts to marriage and illegitimate children. The results and recommendations were an important contribution to the debate on family law and its subsequent Reform.
Since the 1970s, wrote McGregor in addition, numerous articles on social and legal reforms. In the process, he combined his academic activities with his services as a member of committees such as the enforcement of court debt (Committee on the Enforcement of Judgement Debts)), in order to maintain legal limits and land use (Committee on Statutory Maintenance Limits and Land Use), as well as President of the national Council for One-parent families (National Council for One-Parent Families), and the National Association of Citizens' Advice Bureaux.
In addition to his teaching activities at the University of London he worked from 1972 to 1975 as a Fellow at Wolfson College of the University of Oxford. During this time, he was also Director of the centre for socio-legal studies of the University of Oxford, where he held a number of important inter-university research projects initiated by the University of London, the University of Bristol and the University of Oxford.[1]
As a member of the Select Committee on One-Parent Families, McGregor played a key role in the promotion of research and the preparation of its final report, designated the Finer Report from the year 1974.
Chairman of the Royal Press Commission
On March 7, 1975, McGregor, who had previously been a member of that commission,[2] became chairman of the Royal Commission on the Press, succeeding the late Morris Finer. This was set up in May 1974 to "inquire into the factors affecting the maintenance of the independence, diversity and editorial standards of newspapers and periodicals and the public freedom of choice of newspapers and periodicals, nationally, regionally and locally").
The 1977 published the final report of the Royal press Commission gave a detailed position on the constitutional requirements of the freedom of the press, including on the Reform of the former Press Council. The report highlighted the close institutional and financial relations between the newspapers and the advertising industry. This was followed by necessary commitment to the principles of freedom and self-monitoring of the press in commercial affairs.
The final report of the Royal Press Commission, published in 1977, gave a detailed view on the constitutional requirements of freedom of the press, including on the reform of the then Press Council. The report further highlighted the close institutional and financial relationships between newspapers and the advertising industry. From this necessarily followed his commitment to the principles of freedom and self-policing of the press in commercial matters.[1]
In 1977 he became chairman of the Reuter’s Founders’ Share Company and a fellow of the London School of Economics.
Member of the House of Lords
By a Letters Patent dated February 9, 1978, McGregor was elevated to the peerage as a life peer with the title Baron McGregor of Durris, of Hampstead in Greater London[3][4] and was a member of the House of Lords until his death. In the upper house he joined the group of non-party peers, the so-called crossbenchers.
Baron McGregor was later chairman of the Advertising Standards Authority, an organization for the self-policing of the advertising industry, between 1980 and 1990. During his ten-year tenure, he played a key role in revising the advertising industry's principles regarding the protection of public interests and the handling of complaints. In 1986 the University of Bristol awarded him an honorary doctorate.
He then was from 1991 to 1994 as the first chairman of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC), which acted as a voluntary organization for complaints about print media (dissolved in 2014 and replaced by the Independent Press Standards Organization).
This three-year stint was marred by some controversy, particularly a series of highly explosive revelations about the private lives of Charles, Prince of Wales and his then wife Diana, Princess of Wales, culminating in the book publications of Andrew Morton.[1]
References
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