David Waddington

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David Charles Waddington, Baron Waddington, Template:Post-nominals (2 August 1929 – 23 February 2017) was a British politician and barrister.

A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons from 1968 to 1974 and 1979 to 1990, and was then made a life peer in the House of Lords. During his parliamentary career, Waddington worked in government as Chief Whip, then as Home Secretary and finally as Leader of the House of Lords. He then served as the Governor of Bermuda between 1992 and 1997.

Early life

Waddington was born in Burnley, Lancashire, the youngest of five. His father and grandfather were both solicitors in Burnley. He was educated at Cressbrook School and Sedbergh School, both independent schools.<ref name=IObit>Template:Cite news</ref>

He then attended Hertford College, Oxford, where he became President of the Oxford University Conservative Association. He was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn in 1951.<ref name=GObit>Template:Cite news</ref>

Waddington failed to adequately defend Stefan Kiszko, a civil servant accused of the murder of Lesley Molseed, at Leeds Crown Court in July 1976 in what would become one of the most notorious miscarriages of justice in British legal history. Waddington did not review or question any of the 6000+ statements that the prosecution presented at the last minute. He also failed to ask about semen evidence that could have proved Kiszko's innocence since the sample Kiszko provided did not match semen retained from Molseed's body. Kiszko served 16 years in prison, receiving frequent violent attacks for being a "child killer", after wrongly being found guilty. He died of a massive heart attack 20 months after he was fully released. The real murderer was eventually convicted in 2007. Waddington was a strong supporter of capital punishment.

Political career

Waddington stood for election several times before being successful. He was the Conservative candidate at Farnworth in the 1955 general election, at Nelson and Colne in 1964, and at Heywood and Royton in 1966.<ref name=ParlBio>Template:Cite web</ref>

He was first elected to Parliament at the 1968 Nelson and Colne by-election, caused by the death of Labour MP Sydney Silverman. He was re-elected there 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.<ref name=GObit/>

Waddington was returned to Parliament for Clitheroe at a by-election in March 1979, and was subsequently elected for the broadly similar Ribble Valley constituency in 1983.<ref name=IObit/>

In government

A junior minister under Margaret Thatcher, Waddington was a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury and Government Whip (1979–81), 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 in 1989, when he became Home Secretary.<ref name=ParlBio/> On Monday 5 November 1990, he was the guest-of-honour at the annual dinner of the Conservative Monday Club<ref>Monday News Jan 1991.</ref>

Life peer

On 4 December 1990, he was created a life peer as Baron Waddington, of Read in the County of Lancashire.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> He served as Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords until 1992. He then served as Governor of Bermuda from 1992 until 1997.<ref name=bm>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Lord Waddington was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in 1994.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In November 2009, the Government failed to repeal the Waddington Amendment in the Coroners and Justice Bill.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 26 March 2015, Lord Waddington retired from the House of Lords pursuant to Section 1 of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Waddington married Gillian Rosemary Green (born 1939), the daughter of Alan Green, on 20 December 1958. The couple had three sons and two daughters.<ref name=ODNB/>

Lord Waddington died of pneumonia on 23 February 2017, at his home in South Cheriton, Somerset, aged 87.<ref name=GObit/><ref name=ODNB/>

Arms

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References

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