David Waddington, Baron Waddington

The Right Honourable The Lord Waddington GCVO DL QC PC
Governor of Bermuda
In office 11 April 1992 – 2 May 1997
Premier	John Swan David Saul Pamela Gordon
Preceded by	Desmond Langley
Succeeded by	Thorold Masefield
Leader of the House of Lords Lord Privy Seal
In office 28 November 1990 – 11 April 1992
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	The Lord Belstead
Succeeded by	The Lord Wakeham
Home Secretary
In office 26 October 1989 – 28 November 1990
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Douglas Hurd
Succeeded by	Kenneth Baker
Chief Whip of the House of Commons Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
In office 13 June 1987 – 24 July 1989
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	John Wakeham
Succeeded by	Tim Renton
Member of Parliament for Ribble Valley
In office 9 June 1983 – 28 November 1990
Preceded by	Constituency Created
Succeeded by	Michael Carr
Member of Parliament for Clitheroe
In office 1 March 1979 – 9 June 1983
Preceded by	David Walder
Succeeded by	Constituency Abolished
Member of Parliament for Nelson and Colne
In office 27 June 1968 – 10 October 1974
Preceded by	Sydney Silverman
Succeeded by	Doug Hoyle
Personal details
Born	2 August 1929 (1929-08-02) (age 82) Burnley, United Kingdom
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	Hertford College, Oxford Gray's Inn
Religion	Anglican

David Charles Waddington, Baron Waddington, GCVO, DL, QC, PC (born 2 August 1929), is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons from 1968 to 1990, and was then made a life peer. He was the government Chief Whip from 1986 to 1989, and served in the Cabinet as Home Secretary from 1989 to 1990 and Leader of the House of Lords from 1990 to 1992. He then served as the Governor of Bermuda from 1992 to 1997.

Early life

Waddington was born in Burnley, Lancashire, and educated at two independent schools in North West England: Cressbrook School in Kirkby Lonsdale (formerly in Westmorland, since 1974 in Cumbria) and Sedbergh School (formerly in the West Riding of Yorkshire and also now, since 1974, in Cumbria). He then went to Hertford College, Oxford, where he became President of the Oxford University Conservative Association and was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn in 1951.

Stefan Kiszko trial

In 1976, Waddington led the defence in the trial of Stefan Kiszko, a case that would become one of the most notorious miscarriages of justice in recent years. The British tax clerk from Rochdale, who was convicted of the murder of 12-year-old Lesley Molseed, would go on to serve 16 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. This was because Kiszko's defence team made significant mistakes. Firstly, they did not seek an adjournment when the Crown delivered thousands of pages of additional unused material on the first morning of the trial. Secondly, in court, Waddington maintained the inconsistent defence of diminished responsibility which Kiszko had never authorised.^[1] Kiszko was finally released in 1992 after the Court of Appeal was told forensic evidence showed that he could not have been the murderer. Coincidentally, Kiszko's appeal was first lodged on the day Waddington was announced as the new Home Secretary in 1989.

Member of Parliament

He was first elected to Parliament in 1968, at a by-election in the Nelson and Colne constituency caused by the death of Labour MP Sydney Silverman. He was re-elected in 1970 and in February 1974, but lost his seat at the October 1974 general election, by a margin of 669 votes to Labour's Doug Hoyle.

He was returned to Parliament at the by-election in March 1979 for Clitheroe, the constituency being renamed Ribble Valley in 1983.

In government

A junior minister under Margaret Thatcher, Waddington was Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department of Employment (1981–83), Minister of State at the Home Office (1983–87) and Chief Whip from 1987 until his elevation to Cabinet level, becoming Home Secretary in 1989.

Life peer

In 1990 he was created a life peer as Baron Waddington, of Read in the County of Lancashire. He served as Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords until 1992. He served as Governor of Bermuda 1992–1997.^[2]

In 2008 his amendment to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill, known as the Waddington Amendment, inserted a freedom of speech clause into new anti-homophobic hate crime legislation.^[3] In 2009 the Government failed to repeal the Waddington Amendment in the Coroners and Justice Bill.^[4][5]

Personal life

Lord Waddington is currently Chairman of the European Reform Forum.

References

1. ^ Rose, Jonathan; Panter, Steve; Wilkinson, Trevor (1997). Innocents : How justice failed Stefan Kiszko and Lesley Molseed. London: Fourth Estate. ISBN 1-85702-402-8. 
2. ^ Staff reporter (7 May 1997). "From Bermuda to the treacle mines for Lord David". Lancashire Evening Telegraph. http://archive.burytimes.co.uk/1997/5/7/828621.html. Retrieved 24 May 2009. "After almost five years as Governor of Bermuda, Lord Waddington has come home to the Ribble Valley."  (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/5h1GTO7ol)
3. ^ Schedule 16, paragraph 14
4. ^ Coroners and Justice Bill
5. ^ Hansard, 12 November 2009

External links

• Profile on Parliament website
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by David Waddington

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Sydney Silverman	Member of Parliament for Nelson and Colne 1968–1974	Succeeded by Doug Hoyle
Preceded by David Walder	Member of Parliament for Clitheroe 1979–1983	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Ribble Valley 1983–1990	Succeeded by Michael Carr
Political offices
Preceded by John Wakeham	Chief Whip of the House of Commons 1986–1989	Succeeded by Timothy Renton
	Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 1986–1989
Preceded by Douglas Hurd	Home Secretary 1989–1990	Succeeded by Kenneth Baker
Preceded by The Lord Belstead	Leader of the House of Lords 1990–1992	Succeeded by The Lord Wakeham
	Lord Privy Seal 1990–1992
Party political offices
Preceded by The Lord Belstead	Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords 1990–1992	Succeeded by The Lord Wakeham
Government offices
Preceded by Desmond Langley	Governor of Bermuda 1992–1997	Succeeded by Thorold Masefield

Persondata
Name	Waddington, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	2 August 1929
Place of birth	Burnley, United Kingdom
Date of death
Place of death