- Peter Mond, 4th Baron Melchett
Peter Robert Henry Mond, 4th Baron Melchett (born
24 February 1948 ), heir toSir Alfred Mond 's ICI fortune, son of theBritish Steel Corporation Chairman Sir Julian Mond andSonia Melchett (now Sinclair), was educated at Eton andCambridge , where he readLaw . He went on to take an MA inCriminology atKeele University , and later researchedcannabis addiction at theLondon School of Economics .He was a whip in James Callaghan's Labour Party government in the late seventies, then under-secretary for the Environment before becoming minister of state for
Northern Ireland .Announcing himself sick of the 'lying game' of Westminster politics, Melchett withdrew, working first for the
Ramblers' Association in 1984, before being appointed Executive Director ofGreenpeace UK in 1989.Himself the owner of an 890 acre (3.6 km²) farm, Lord Melchett was arrested in 1999 when he was present at an environmental protest against a genetically modified crop trial, at which crops were destroyed by campaigners. Melchett spent a night in Norwich Prison before being released on bail. The case came to court in 2000 when Melchett, and his 27 co-defendants, were unanimously acquitted of Criminal Damage. In the same year, he retired as Greenpeace's Executive Director, but remained on the organisation's board.
Melchett severed his ties with Greenpeace in 2002 when he took up a part-time consultancy with industry PR company
Burson-Marsteller . Burson-Marsteller had formerly been PR consultants forMonsanto , and it was alleged at the time that Lord Melchett had stood down from Greenpeace's Board following accusation that his employment with Burson-Marsteller compromised his integrity. He has been Policy Director at theSoil Association since 2002.Melchett is a patron of
Prisoners Abroad a registered charity which supports British citizens who are imprisoned overseas.External links
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1757114.stm BBC News: Melchett forced off Greenpeace board] 12 January 2002
* [http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/contentlookup.cfm?CFID=2987554&CFTOKEN=83625853&ucidparam=20020118115858 Greenpeace: Peter Melchett] 18 January 2002
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