Michael Havers, Baron Havers

The Right Honourable The Lord Havers PC QC
Lord Chancellor
In office 13 June 1987 – 26 October 1987
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	The Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone
Succeeded by	The Lord Mackay of Clashfern
Attorney General for England and Wales Attorney General for Northern Ireland
In office 6 May 1979 – 13 June 1987
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Samuel Silkin
Succeeded by	Patrick Mayhew
Solicitor General for England and Wales
In office 5 November 1972 – 4 March 1974
Prime Minister	Edward Heath
Preceded by	Geoffrey Howe
Succeeded by	Peter Archer
Member of Parliament for Wimbledon
In office 18 June 1970 – 11 June 1987
Preceded by	Cyril Black
Succeeded by	Charles Goodson-Wickes
Personal details
Born	10 March 1923(1923-03-10)
Died	1 April 1992(1992-04-01) (aged 69)
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	Corpus Christi College, Cambridge

Robert Michael Oldfield Havers, Baron Havers PC, QC (10 March 1923 – 1 April 1992) was a British barrister and Conservative politician. From his knighthood in 1972 until becoming a peer in 1987 he was known as Sir Michael Havers.

Early life

Havers was a son of High Court Judge Sir Cecil Havers and brother of Baroness Butler-Sloss (born 1933) who in 1988 became the first woman named to the Court of Appeal and later President of the Family Division.

Education

Havers was educated at Westminster School, and after war service in the Royal Navy, at Corpus Christi College at the University of Cambridge.

Political and legal career

Havers was named a Queen's Counsel in 1964 and became a member of the Privy Council in 1977. He was elected to the House of Commons representing Wimbledon in 1970, a seat he held until 1987. He served as Solicitor General under Edward Heath from 1972 to 1974, and as Attorney-General for England and Wales and Northern Ireland from 1979 to 1987 under Margaret Thatcher. In June 1987 he was appointed Lord Chancellor and consequently became a life peer as Baron Havers, of St Edmundsbury in the County of Suffolk. However, he was forced to resign that October, due to ill health.

Yorkshire Ripper trial

In May 1981, at the trial of The Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe, Sutcliffe pleaded not guilty to 13 counts of murder, but guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. The basis of this defence was his claim that he was the tool of God's will. Sutcliffe first claimed to have heard voices while working as a gravedigger, that ultimately ordered him to kill prostitutes. He claimed that the voices originated from a headstone of a deceased Polish man, Bronislaw Zapolski,^[1] and that the voices were that of God.^[2][3]

He also pleaded guilty to seven counts of attempted murder. The prosecution intended to accept Sutcliffe's plea after four psychiatrists diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia. However, the trial judge, Mr Justice Boreham, demanded an unusually detailed explanation of the prosecution reasoning. After a two-hour representation by Havers, the Attorney-General, a 90-minute lunch break and a further 40 minutes of legal discussion, he rejected the diminished responsibility plea and the expert testimonies of the four psychiatrists, insisting that the case should be dealt with by a jury. The trial proper was set to commence on 5 May 1981.

The trial lasted two weeks and despite the efforts of his counsel James Chadwin QC, Sutcliffe was found guilty of murder on all counts and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Role in the Guildford Four and Maguire Family miscarriages of justice

Havers represented the Crown in two of the most notable miscarriages of justice in British judicial history:^[4] the trial and appeal of the Guildford Four and also of the Maguire family (known as the Maguire Seven), all of whom were wrongfully convicted. Collectively, they served a total of 113 years in prison and one of the Maguire Seven, Giuseppe Conlon, died in prison, convicted on the basis of discredited forensic evidence.^[5]

In the case of the Guildford Four, the Director of Public Prosecutions was found to have suppressed alibi evidence that supported Gerry Conlon and Paul Hill’s claims of innocence.^[6] The Director of Public Prosecutions, for which Havers was acting, was also found to have suppressed confessions by Provisional IRA bombers, known as the Balcombe Street Gang that they had carried out the Guildford and Woolwich bombings.

In his submission to Sir John May's Inquiry into the Guildford and Woolwich bombings in 1989 Labour MP Chris Mullin's cast doubt on Havers’s integrity in the matter:^[7]

Sir Michael Havers represented the Crown at the trials of the Guildford Four, Mrs. Maguire and her family and at the re-trial/appeal of the Guildford Four. He is, therefore, probably the person who can lay claim to the most detailed knowledge of this affair. I respectfully submit that any inquiry that passed without the benefit of his experience would be deficient....
The only hope of sustaining the original convictions was to rewrite the script from top to bottom. This Sir Michael and his colleagues proceeded to do with ingenuity and relish.

Family

His sons are the Honourable Philip Havers, QC and the actor, the Honourable Nigel Havers.

In popular culture

Havers was portrayed by Peter Blythe in the 2002 BBC production of Ian Curteis's controversial The Falklands Play. On an occasion when he delayed making a decision, he was the subject of one of the shortest ever letters to The Times newspaper - a letter which ran as follows:

Sir,

Michael Havers.

As ever,

.....

References

1. ^ "The Trial: Week Two." Trial of Peter Sutcliffe.
2. ^ "MP's Ripper prison demand." BBC World News. 9 March 2003.
3. ^ "Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe's Weight-Gain Strategy in Latest Bid for Freedom." New Criminologist. 25 May 2005.
4. ^ Guardian: After 16 years of waiting, an apology at last for the Guildford Four
5. ^ New Scientist: Faulty forensic testing convicted Maguire Seven
6. ^ New York Times Letter: Sins of the Guildford Four Prosecution
7. ^ Evidence to Sir John May's Inquiry into the Guildford and Woolwich bombings - 1989

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Michael Havers

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Cyril Black	Member of Parliament for Wimbledon 1970–1987	Succeeded by Charles Goodson-Wickes
Political offices
Preceded by Geoffrey Howe	Solicitor General for England and Wales 1972–1974	Succeeded by Peter Archer
Preceded by Samuel Silkin	Attorney General for England and Wales 1979–1987	Succeeded by Patrick Mayhew
	Attorney General for Northern Ireland 1979–1987
Preceded by The Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone	Lord Chancellor 1987	Succeeded by The Lord Mackay of Clashfern

Persondata
Name	Havers, Michael
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	10 March 1923
Place of birth
Date of death	1 April 1992
Place of death