Neil Hamilton (politician)
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Mostyn Neil Hamilton (born March 9, 1949) is a former solicitor and Conservative MP in the United Kingdom. Since his fall from grace and subsequent bankruptcy, Hamilton and his wife Christine have become minor media celebrities.
Political career
In February 1974 Hamilton stood as the Conservative candidate in Aberystwyth, where he attended University in the late 1960s after his education at Chigwell School, Essex. In 1979 Hamilton unsuccessfully stood as a Parliamentary candidate in Bradford where in a selection speech and an election flyer he advocated "coloured" repatriation [link]. He was elected to Parliament in 1983 as the MP for the Tatton constituency. Margaret Thatcher made him a whip in July 1990. He later served as Minister for De-Regulation from April 1992 onwards.Wins BBC libel case
Neil Hamilton and fellow MP Gerald Howarth successfully sued the BBC for libel in October 1986 after a Panorama programme, "Maggie's Militant Tendency", broadcast January 30, 1984, stated that the MPs had links with far-right groups in Europe and in the UK. The case, financed by Sir James Goldsmith, succeeded when the BBC withdrew, and the plantiffs were awarded damages £20,000 each. The BBC also had to pay the pair's legal costs. The programme had alleged (not admitted as evidence in court, but Hamilton effectively confessed in The Sunday Times), that he gave a Nazi salute in Berlin while 'messing around' on a Parliamentary visit in August 1983. [link]Monday Club
He was for some years a member of the staunchly right-wing Conservative Monday Club, and was one of those elected to its Executive Council as far back as 1972. Although he lapsed after his election as an M.P., he continued his support for the Club and hosted a large reception for them in Westminster Hall in January 1992.Because of his Monday Club connections Hamilton was friendly with Gregory Lauder-Frost, who was also Secretary-General of the International Monarchist League, and hosted a Summer Reception for the League in Westminster Hall on 17 July 1990.
Cash for Questions Crisis
On October 20, 1994, The Guardian published an article claiming that Hamilton, and another minister, Tim Smith, had received money, paid in the form of cash in brown envelopes, from Harrods' owner Mohamed Al-Fayed, for asking questions on his behalf in the House of Commons. The subsequent furore became known as the "Cash-for-questions affair". Tim Smith admitted his guilt and resigned immediately. Neil Hamilton claimed innocence but was eventually forced to resign his position as Corporate Affairs Minister.During the election of 1997, Hamilton, still claiming his innocence, was determined to hold onto his parliamentary seat in what was then one of the safest Conservative constituencies in the country. Conservative Central Office said that selection of candidates was purely a matter for the local party and refused to intervene. However what Hamilton's supporters labelled the 'left-wing media' gave constant and entirely negative publicity to Hamilton's case and badly undermined his position in the eyes of the general public.
The media's interest in unseating the right-wing Hamilton appeared to be confirmed when the well-known BBC war correspondent Martin Bell decided to stand as an independent candidate in Hamilton's constituency, and the Labour and Liberal candidates stood down in order to give him a clear run against Hamilton. Martin Bell subsequently won the seat with a majority of over 11,000 votes. The media coverage surrounding Neil Hamilton along with other allegations of sleaze levelled at the Conservative Party, severely de-railed the Conservatives' election campaign and contributed to the worst defeat the Conservative Party had suffered for 150 years.
Neil Hamilton took Mohamed Al-Fayed to court for libel in 1999, but he lost the trial after the 11 jurors determined he had corruptly taken payments from Mobil [link]. He also lost the subsequent appeal [link]. In 2001, unable to pay legal fees and costs amounting to some £3m, he was declared bankrupt.
He still has supporters who believe him to have been unfairly treated by the media and the courts. Former Granada journalist Jonathan Boyd Hunt[link] investigated the "Cash For Questions" affair, and declared in his book "Trial By Conspiracy" (ISBN 0473051230) that the case against Hamilton was untrue. The alleged conspiracy against Hamilton is also documented at Boyd Hunt's website, Guardian Lies [link].
After the Crisis
Hamilton's career took an unusual turn in 1997 when he and Christine appeared on the current affairs satire quiz Have I Got News For You. Angus Deayton , the chairman of the panel game, wore a white suit instead of his usual brown one, in reference to Martin Bell, who wore such a suit throughout his election campaign (he was standing against Neil). Despite being the subject of numerous taunts about the scandal, including being given their "fee" in brown envelopes at the end of the show, the Hamiltons managed to come through the experience well. At one point Hamilton quipped, "I've found it's much better making political jokes than being one," and many felt that both Hamiltons had shown strong potential. Since then they have often appeared on chat shows and in other formats, including pantomime. In an appearance on a celebrity edition of Mastermind Hamilton described himself as now being "an object of professional curiosity."In August 2001 Neil and Christine Hamilton were arrested by police investigating an alleged rape, with an inevitable blaze of publicity. The investigation against them was dropped when it was discovered that the accusations were entirely false. This episode of their lives regarding the alleged rape was captured on film by Louis Theroux, who at that time was filming the Hamiltons for an episode of When Louis Met.... In June 2003 their accuser, Nadine Milroy-Sloan, was gaoled for attempting to pervert the course of justice.[link] In 2005 the publicist Max Clifford, who had acted for Milroy-Sloan, paid an undisclosed sum in damages to settle defamation proceedings brought by the Hamiltons.[link]
A Career in Music?
In a bizarre twist, Neil and Christine released a football World Cup song, England Are Jolly Dee, in the run up to the 2006 competition. In news interviews publicising its release the couple stated they had intended to make a song to celebrate the support of casual fans, rather than those who "rush to the terraces every week". Comedian Al Murray, who released his own World Cup song at the same time, said in an interview on Five Live that their World Cup song sounded as though it had been recorded by "the Germans", and that they were "obviously broke".External links
- [Guardian Special Report - Hamilton, Al Fayed Libel Case]
- [Mohamed Al Fayed] on Hamilton
- [Guardian Lies] - site claiming a conspiracy against Hamilton
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