View source for Leon Brittan

{{Short description|British politician (1939–2015)}}
{{Distinguish|text=the footballer, [[Leon Britton]]}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name                = The Lord Brittan of Spennithorne
| honorific-suffix    = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|PC|QC|DL}}
| image               = Leon Brittan (1996) 02.jpg
| alt                 = Brittan, 57, in a portrait photograph
| caption             = Brittan in 1996
| office              = [[Vice-President of the European Commission]]
| president           = [[Manuel Marín]] (acting)
| term_start          = 16 March 1999
| term_end            = 15 September 1999
| predecessor         = Manuel Marín
| successor           = [[Neil Kinnock]]
{{Collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |European Commission {{nobold|1989–1999}}
 |titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office2             = [[European Commissioner for External&nbsp;Relations]]
| president2          = {{Plainlist|
* [[Jacques Santer]]
* Manuel Marín (acting)}}
| term_start2         = 23 January 1995
| term_end2           = 15 September 1999
| predecessor2        = [[Frans Andriessen]]
| successor2          = [[Chris Patten]]
| office3             = [[European Commissioner for Trade]]
| president3          = {{Plainlist|
* [[Jacques Delors]]
* Jacques Santer
* Manuel Marín (acting)}}
| term_start3         = 6 January 1993
| term_end3           = 15 September 1999
| predecessor3        = Frans Andriessen
| successor3          = [[Pascal Lamy]]
| office4             = [[European Commissioner for Competition]]
| president4          = Jacques Delors
| term_start4         = 6 January 1989
| term_end4           = 6 January 1993
| predecessor4        = [[Peter Sutherland]]
| successor4          = [[Karel Van Miert]]
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}}}
| office5             = [[Secretary of State for Trade and Industry]]
| primeminister5      = [[Margaret Thatcher]]
| term_start5         = 2 September 1985
| term_end5           = 24 January 1986
| predecessor5        = [[Norman Tebbit]]
| successor5          = [[Paul Channon]]
| office6             = [[Home Secretary]]
| primeminister6      = Margaret Thatcher
| term_start6         = 11 June 1983
| term_end6           = 2 September 1985
| predecessor6        = [[William Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw|William Whitelaw]]
| successor6          = [[Douglas Hurd]]
| office7             = [[Chief Secretary to the Treasury]]
| primeminister7      = Margaret Thatcher
| term_start7         = 5 January 1981
| term_end7           = 11 June 1983
| predecessor7        = [[John Biffen]]
| successor7          = [[Peter Rees, Baron Rees|Peter Rees]]
| office8             = [[Minister of State for Home Affairs (United Kingdom)|Minister of State for Home Affairs]]
| primeminister8      = Margaret Thatcher
| term_start8         = 4 May 1979
| term_end8           = 5 January 1981
| predecessor8        = [[Terence Boston, Baron Boston of Faversham|The Lord Boston of Faversham]]
| successor8          = [[Patrick Mayhew]]
| parliament9         = United Kingdom
| constituency_MP9    = Richmond (Yorks)
| term_start9         = 9 June 1983
| term_end9           = 31 December 1988
| predecessor9        = [[Timothy Kitson]]
| successor9          = [[William Hague]]
| constituency_MP10   = Cleveland and Whitby
| term_start10        = 28 February 1974
| term_end10          = 13 May 1983
| predecessor10       = [[James Tinn]]
| successor10         = [[Boundary commissions (United Kingdom)|''Constituency abolished'']]
| birth_name          = Leon Brittan
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1939|9|25|df=y}}
| birth_place         = London, England
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2015|01|21|1939|9|25|df=y}}
| death_place         = London, England
| party               = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|Diana Peterson|23 December 1980}}<ref name=ODNB/>
| children            = 2<!-- stepdaughters -->
| relatives           = [[Samuel Brittan]] (brother)
| education           = [[Haberdashers' Aske's Boys'&nbsp;School]]
| alma_mater          = {{Plainlist|
* [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]
* [[Yale University]]}}
| profession          = [[Barrister]]
| awards              = [[Knight Bachelor]] (1989)
}}

'''Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|sep=,|size=100%|PC|QC|DL}} (25 September 1939{{snd}}21 January 2015) was a British [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] politician and [[barrister]] who served as a [[European Commissioner]] from 1989 to 1999. As a [[member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|member of Parliament]] from 1974 to 1988, he served several ministerial roles in [[Premiership of Margaret Thatcher|Margaret Thatcher's government]], including [[Home Secretary]] from 1983 to 1985.

== Early life ==
Leon Brittan was born in London, the son of Rebecca (née Lipetz) and Joseph Brittan, a doctor. His parents were [[Lithuanian Jews]] who had migrated to Britain before the [[Second World War]].<ref name=nyt>{{cite news |title=Man in the News; Crisis Commander |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/23/world/man-in-the-news-crisis-commander.html |access-date=7 November 2016 |work=The New York Times |date=23 April 1984}}</ref>

Brittan was educated at the [[Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School]] and [[Trinity College, Cambridge]], where he was President of the [[Cambridge Union Society]] and Chairman of the [[Cambridge University Conservative Association]]. Brittan then studied at [[Yale University]] on a [[Henry Fellowship]].<ref>{{Who's Who | author= [Anon.] | year= 2016 | title=Brittan of Spennithorne | id= U8773 | doi= 10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U8773 |access-date=2019-05-18}}</ref> [[Samuel Brittan|Sir Samuel Brittan]], the economics journalist, was his brother.<ref name=nyt /> The former Conservative MP [[Malcolm Rifkind]] and the music producer [[Mark Ronson]] were cousins.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hope |first=Christopher |title=Who do they think they are? One in 11 MPs is married, related or have ancestors who sat in Commons |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10650010/Who-do-they-think-they-are-One-in-11-MPs-is-married-related-or-have-ancestors-who-sat-in-Commons.html |access-date=20 February 2014 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=19 February 2014}}</ref><ref name="entertainment.timesonline.co.uk">{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list/profile/article/the-man-amy-and-lily-go-to-when-they-want-a-hit-08r0l0hhcnn |work=[[The Times]] |location=London |title=The man Amy and Lily go to when they want a hit |date=27 January 2008 |access-date=20 February 2021 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Political career ==

=== MP and minister ===
After unsuccessfully contesting the constituency of [[Kensington North]] in [[1966 United Kingdom general election|1966]] and [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970]], he was elected to Parliament in the [[February 1974 United Kingdom general election|general election of February 1974]] for [[Cleveland and Whitby]], and became an opposition spokesman in 1976. He was made a [[Queen's Counsel]] in 1978. Between 1979 and 1981, he was Minister of State at the [[Home Office]]. He was then promoted to become [[Chief Secretary to the Treasury]], becoming the youngest member of the [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]].<ref name=bbc>{{cite news |title=Brittan returns to Parliament as peer |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/584119.stm |access-date=3 July 2014 |work=BBC News |date=31 December 1999}}</ref> He warned cabinet colleagues that spending on social security, health and education would have to be cut "whether they like it or not".<ref>{{cite news |last=Parkhouse |first=Geoffrey| title=Brittan warns 'wets' of cuts |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19820923&id=W8NAAAAAIBAJ&pg=6889,4161276 |access-date=3 July 2014 |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |date=23 September 1982}}</ref>

At the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 election]], Brittan was elected MP for [[Richmond (Yorks) (UK Parliament constituency)|Richmond]]. Following the election, he was promoted to [[Home Secretary]], becoming the youngest since [[Churchill]].<ref name=bbc /> During the [[1984–85 miners' strike]], Brittan was a strong critic of the leadership of the [[National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain)|National Union of Mineworkers]]. He accused them of organising violence by [[flying pickets]], whom he described as "thugs".<ref>{{cite news |last= Russell |first= William |title= Brittan keeps up attack on miners' union leaders |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19840813&id=7sJAAAAAIBAJ&pg=3173,2245632 |access-date= 13 January 2014 |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |date= 13 August 1984}}</ref> One factor in the defeat of the strike was central control of local police forces. As soon as the strike began, Brittan set up a National Reporting Centre in [[New Scotland Yard]] to coordinate intelligence and the supply of police officers between forces as necessary. [[Margaret Thatcher]]'s government had carefully planned for a miners' strike, and a [[Government of the United Kingdom|Whitehall]] committee had been meeting in secret since 1981 to prepare for a protracted dispute.<ref>{{cite book |last=Boxer |first=Andrew |title=OCR A Level History B: The End of Consensus: Britain, 1945–90 |year=2009 |publisher=Pearson Education|isbn=978-0-435-31237-4 |pages=192–193 |url={{GBurl|id=2XEZbswz2JIC|pg=PT132}}|url-access=limited}}</ref>

In 1984, after the [[murder of Yvonne Fletcher]], a police officer, during a protest outside the [[Libyan embassy in London]], Brittan headed the government's crisis committee as both Thatcher and the Foreign Secretary, [[Sir Geoffrey Howe]], were away at the time.<ref>{{cite news |title=Aide Handled Crisis In Thatcher Style |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19840428&id=Cf8sAAAAIBAJ&pg=2088,5300045 |access-date=3 July 2014 |work=The Palm Beach Post |location=Florida |date=28 April 1984 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In January 2014, secret government documents released by [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|the National Archives]] disclosed that Libya twice warned British officials that the Libyan embassy protest would become violent – hours before WPC Fletcher was killed.<ref>{{cite news |title=National Archives: Libya warned Britain before WPc Yvonne Fletcher was shot, secret papers show |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/10541043/National-Archives-Libya-warned-Britain-before-WPc-Yvonne-Fletcher-was-shot-secret-papers-show.html |access-date=3 July 2014 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=3 January 2014}}</ref>

In September 1986, Brittan was cleared by a High Court Judge of acting unlawfully when, as Home Secretary,  he gave [[MI5]] permission to tap the telephone of a leader of the [[Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Judge clears Brittan over phone tap on CND leader |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19860903&id=FbZAAAAAIBAJ&pg=2699,654646 |access-date=11 March 2014 |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |date=3 September 1986}}</ref>

In September 1985, Brittan was moved to [[Secretary of State for Trade and Industry]].<ref name=trade>{{cite news |title= Thatcher's biggest-ever cabinet shuffle sees Home Secretary Brittan demoted |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19850903&id=9x8yAAAAIBAJ&pg=5010,76348 |access-date= 13 January 2014 |newspaper=The Montreal Gazette |date=3 September 1985}}</ref> The reason for his demotion, according to [[Jonathan Aitken]], was that the prime minister Margaret Thatcher felt that Brittan was "not getting the message across on television".<ref name="Aitken">{{cite book |last=Aitken |first=Jonathan |title= Margaret Thatcher: Power and Personality |year= 2013 |isbn=978-1-4088-3184-7 |page={{pli|https://archive.org/details/margaretthatcher0000aitk/page/514 |514}} |url=https://archive.org/details/margaretthatcher0000aitk |url-access=registration |quote=<!--leon brittan.--> |publisher= Bloomsbury |location= London}}</ref> In her memoirs, Thatcher wrote of Brittan: "Everybody complained about his manner on television, which seemed aloof and uncomfortable."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Castle |first1=Stephen |title=Leon Brittan, 75, Dies; Quit Thatcher Cabinet in Leak Case |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/28/world/europe/leon-brittan-dies-at-75-british-official-in-leak-case.html?_r=0 |access-date=22 August 2015 |work=The New York Times |date=27 January 2015}}</ref>

Brittan had been criticised as a poor communicator and for his role in the suppression of a [[BBC]] television programme in the ''Real Lives'' series on [[The Troubles]] in Northern Ireland, ''At the Edge of the Union''.<ref name=trade /> Brittan stated that transmission of the programme would be against the national interest and in August 1985 he wrote to the BBC chairman, [[Stuart Young (1934–1986)|Stuart Young]], asking for the broadcast to be cancelled. The BBC's Board of Governors called an emergency meeting and ruled that the documentary could not be shown. The controversy led to a rift between the BBC's boards of management and governors. It also led to a day of strike action by hundreds of television and radio workers who protested against what they perceived as government censorship.<ref>{{cite web |title= The BBC Story: Real Lives 1985 |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/resources/bbcandgov/real_lives.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611010536/http://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/resources/bbcandgov/real_lives.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 June 2010 |work=BBC |access-date= 13 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=BBC set for confrontation with Brittan |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19850807&id=oqNAAAAAIBAJ&pg=4565,1222318 |access-date=16 January 2014 |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |date=7 August 1985}}</ref>

=== Resignation over the Westland affair ===
Brittan resigned as Trade and Industry Secretary in January 1986 over the [[Westland affair]].<ref name="westland">{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/24/newsid_2506000/2506501.stm |title=1986: Leon Brittan quits over Westland|work=On This Day |date=24 January 1986|publisher=BBC |access-date=28 October 2012}}</ref> Brittan had authorised the [[news leak|leaking]] of a letter from the [[Solicitor General for England and Wales|Solicitor General]] that had accused [[Michael Heseltine]] of inaccuracies in his campaign for Westland to be rescued by a consortium of European investors.<ref name="westland" /> The rest of the government, led by Margaret Thatcher, supported a deal with the American business [[Sikorsky Aircraft|Sikorsky Fiat]].<ref name="westland" />

Jonathan Aitken wrote of Brittan's resignation: "Soon after a poisonous meeting of Tory backbenchers at the 1922 Committee, he fell on his sword. It was a combination of a witch hunt and a search for a scapegoat – tainted by an undercurrent of anti-Semitism. […] I believed what should have been obvious to anyone else, that he was being used as a lightning conductor to deflect the fire that the Prime Minister had started and inflamed".<ref name="Aitken" /> It was later revealed that Brittan had attempted to persuade [[British Aerospace]] and [[General Electric Company]] (GEC) to withdraw from the European consortium.<ref name="westland" />

In October 1986, in a [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] debate, Brittan made a bitter attack on Michael Heseltine, accusing him of "thwarting the Government at every turn" in its handling of the Westland affair. Brittan said that Government decisions "should have the support of all its members and should not be undermined from within".<ref>{{cite news |last=McGregor |first=Stephen |title=Thatcher accused of Westland plot |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19861030&id=H4JDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3208,7658602 |access-date=8 February 2014 |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |date=30 October 1986}}</ref>

In 1989, Brittan revealed in a [[Channel 4]] programme that two senior Downing Street officials, [[Bernard Ingham]] and [[Charles Powell, Baron Powell of Bayswater|Charles Powell]], had approved the leaking of the letter from the Solicitor General. Brittan's claim led to calls from some Labour MPs for a new inquiry into the Westland affair.<ref>{{cite news |last=Trotter |first=Stuart |title=Westland affair re-opened by Brittan |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19890406&id=VTFAAAAAIBAJ&pg=6355,1388601 |access-date=8 February 2014 |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |date=6 April 1989}}</ref>

=== European Commission ===
[[File:FGoto with EU Chairman of Trade & Commerce Comittee and A.Abashidze.jpg|thumb|Sir Leon Brittan (centre) as a [[European Commissioner]] in 1994]]

Brittan was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] in the [[1989 New Year Honours|1989 New Years Honours List]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.industry-forum.org/biography.cfm?speakerid=178 |title=The Rt. Hon. The Lord (Leon) Brittan of Spennithorne QC DL |type=biography |publisher=Industry Forum Ltd |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726175131/http://www.industry-forum.org/biography.cfm?speakerid=178 |archive-date=26 July 2011 }}</ref> He was made [[European Commissioner for Competition]] at the [[European Commission]] early in 1989,<ref name="westland" /> resigning as an MP to take the position. He accepted the post reluctantly, as it meant giving up his British parliamentary ambitions.<ref name="The Guardian 22 January 2015">{{cite news |last= Langdon |first= Julia|author-link=Julia Langdon| title= Lord Brittan of Spennithorne obituary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jan/22/lord-brittan-of-spennithorne| date= 22 January 2015| newspaper= The Guardian |location=London| access-date=23 January 2015}}</ref> Margaret Thatcher appointed Brittan to the Commission as a replacement for [[Lord Cockfield]], whose pro-European enthusiasm she disapproved of; however, in doing so she had overlooked Brittan's own record as a supporter of the European Union and subsequently found his views and policies at odds with those she had expected from him.<ref name="The Guardian 22 January 2015" /> Brittan passed the merger regulation in 1989,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1586763891821&uri=CELEX:31989R4064|title=Council Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89 of 21 December 1989 on the control of concentrations between undertakings|website=Eur Lex|access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref> which enabled him to ban the ATR/De Havilland planned merger in 1991.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1586763747550&uri=CELEX:31991D0619|title=91/619/EEC: Commission Decision of 2 October 1991 declaring the incompatibility with the common market of a concentration (Case No IV/M.053 – Aerospatiale- Alenia/de Havilland) – Council Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89|website=Eur Lex|access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref>

In 1993 he became [[European Commissioner for Trade]] and in 1995 [[European Commissioner for External Relations|European Commissioner for External Affairs]], also serving as a [[Vice-President of the European Commission]]. Brittan resigned with the rest of the [[Santer Commission]] in 1999 amid accusations of fraud against [[Jacques Santer]] and [[Édith Cresson]].<ref name="westland" /> During his time as a Vice-President of the European Commission, one subsequently prominent member of his official office was [[Nick Clegg]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.libdems.org.uk/spokespeople_detail.aspx?name=The_Rt_Hon_Nick_Clegg_MP&pPK=8968baa4-6d2c-46b2-b9df-d4600f1cedce|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520113620/http://libdems.org.uk/spokespeople_detail.aspx?name=The_Rt_Hon_Nick_Clegg_MP&pPK=8968baa4-6d2c-46b2-b9df-d4600f1cedce|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 May 2011|title=Nick Clegg|publisher=Liberal Democrats <!--official website-->}}</ref> who became leader of the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] in December 2007<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7148367.stm |title=Nick Clegg is new Lib Dem leader |work=BBC News |date=18 December 2007 |access-date=19 November 2014}}</ref> and [[Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|deputy prime minister]] in May 2010.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8675265.stm |title=David Cameron is UK's new prime minister |work=BBC News |date=12 May 2010 |access-date=19 November 2014}}</ref>

== Peerage ==
[[File:Prime Minister’s Representative for Trade (5430640273).jpg|thumb|Lord Brittan as the Prime Minister's Representative for Trade in 2011]]

Brittan was created a [[life peer]] (Baron Brittan of Spennithorne, of [[Spennithorne]] in the [[County of North Yorkshire]]) on 9 February 2000.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{London Gazette |issue=55762 |date=14 February 2000 |page=1611}}</ref> He was vice-chairman of [[UBS AG]] Investment Bank, non-executive director of [[Unilever]] and member of the international advisory committee for [[Total S.A.|Total]]. In August 2010, Brittan was appointed a trade adviser to the UK government. Prime Minister [[David Cameron]] said that Brittan had "unrivalled experience" for the job, which was scheduled to last for six months.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11026437 |title= Ex-Home Secretary Lord Brittan made trade adviser |work=BBC News |date=19 August 2010 |access-date=20 February 2021}}</ref>

Brittan's wife Diana ({{nee|Clemetson}}, born 1940),<ref name=ODNB/> Lady Brittan of Spennithorne, was named a Dame Commander of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (DBE) in the [[2004 Birthday Honours]] "for public service and charity".<ref>{{London Gazette|nolink=y |issue=57315|date=12 June 2004|page=6|supp=1}}</ref>

== Death ==
Brittan died at his London home in [[Pimlico]] on 21 January 2015, aged 75;<ref name="ODNB" /> he had been ill with cancer for some time. He had two stepdaughters.<ref name="The Guardian 14 Jan 2015">{{cite news |last= Mason |first= Rowena | title= Leon Brittan, former home secretary, dies aged 75|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jan/22/leon-brittan-former-home-secretary-dies| date=22 January 2015| newspaper= The Guardian |location=London| access-date=22 January 2015}}</ref>

== False allegations ==

=== Paedophile dossier ===
{{Main|Westminster paedophile dossier}}
In 1984, in his capacity as Home Secretary, Brittan was handed a [[Westminster paedophile dossier|40-page dossier]] by [[Geoffrey Dickens]] MP which detailed alleged paedophile activity in the 1980s, including, according to Dickens, allegations concerning "people in positions of power, influence and responsibility".<ref name=GuardJul614>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jul/06/child-abuse-coverup-1980s-lord-tebbit |title= Tebbit hints at political cover-up over child abuse in 1980s |author=Boffey, Daniel |newspaper= The Guardian |location= London |date=6 July 2014 |access-date=6 July 2014}}</ref><ref name=IndFeb13>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/tory-mp-warned-of-powerful-paedophile-ring-30-years-ago-8507780.html |title= Tory MP warned of powerful paedophile ring 30 years ago |newspaper=The Independent |location= London |date=22 February 2013 |access-date=6 July 2014}}</ref> The whereabouts of the dossier is currently unknown.<ref name=GuardJul614 /> Brittan denied any knowledge of the matter in an e-mail to a ''[[Channel 4 News]]'' reporter in 2013,<ref name=channel4>{{cite news |last=O'Brien |first=Paraic |title=Leon Brittan: I was handed 'paedophile' dossier |url=http://www.channel4.com/news/lord-leon-brittan-home-office-paedophile-dossier |access-date=3 July 2014 |work=Channel 4 News |date=2 July 2014}}</ref> and later replied that he had no recollection of it to a query from ''[[The Independent]]'' newspaper.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hickman |first=Martin |title=Police failings put dozens of children at risk from notorious paedophile ring |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/police-failings-put-dozens-of-children-at-risk-from-notorious-paedophile-ring-8518522.html |access-date=3 July 2014 |newspaper=The Independent |location=London |date=3 March 2013}}</ref>

Brittan later declared in 2014 that Dickens had met him at the Home Office and that he had written to Dickens on 20 March 1984, explaining what had been done about the files.<ref name=channel4 /> In an article for ''The Times'', journalist James Gillespie quoted a letter from Dickens dated 7 January 1984 in which he thanked Brittan for his "splendid support". He also gave examples of the allegations in the dossier, including a woman protesting that her 16-year-old son had become homosexual after working in Buckingham Palace kitchens and a civil servant advocating persons caught by Customs and Excise importing child pornography should be referred to the police.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/new-evidence-clears-brittan-over-mps-paedophile-dossier-j9vrg8xvc57 |title=New evidence 'clears' Brittan over MP's paedophile dossier |first=James |last=Gillespie |date=25 January 2015 |access-date=15 May 2019 |newspaper=[[The Times]] |location= London |url-access= subscription}}</ref>

An initial review by Home Office civil servant [[Mark Sedwill]] in 2013 concluded that copies of Dickens's material had "not been retained" but that Brittan had acted appropriately in dealing with the allegations. In November 2014, a review by [[Peter Wanless]] followed. Wanless said there was no evidence to suggest that files had been removed to cover up abuse.<ref name=BBCWanless>{{cite news |title='No cover-up found' in abuse review by Peter Wanless |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30002908 |date=11 November 2014 |access-date=11 November 2014 |work=BBC News |location=Manchester}}</ref>

=== Allegations pursued by Labour MP ===
{{Main|Elm Guest House hoax|Operation Midland}}
In June 2014, Brittan was interviewed under caution by police in connection with the alleged rape of a 19-year-old student in his central London flat in 1967 before he became an MP. They had not pursued the allegation when it was first made because of insufficient evidence. The police reopened the investigation after [[Alison Saunders]], the [[Director of Public Prosecutions (England and Wales)|Director of Public Prosecutions]], had been lobbied by Labour MP [[Tom Watson (Labour politician)|Tom Watson]] to investigate further.<ref>{{cite news |last=Merrill |first=Jamie |title=Exclusive: Lord Brittan questioned by police over rape allegation |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/exclusive-lord-brittan-questioned-by-police-over-rape-allegation-9587245.html |access-date=6 July 2014 |newspaper=The Independent on Sunday |location=London |date=6 July 2014}}</ref> In a statement on 7 July 2014, Brittan denied the claims.<ref>{{cite news |title=Brittan says historical rape claim 'wholly unfounded' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-28194481 |access-date=7 July 2014 |work=BBC News |date=7 July 2014}}</ref> At the time of his death, Brittan had not been told by the police that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him for the alleged rape of the woman.<ref name="Hanning">{{cite news |last=Hanning |first=James |title= Lord Brittan police failed to tell dying peer he would not face prosecution despite legal advice |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/lord-brittan-police-failed-to-tell-dying-peer-he-would-not-face-prosecution-despite-legal-advice-10350596.html |access-date=28 June 2015 |newspaper=The Independent |location=London |date=28 June 2015}}</ref> The deputy assistant commissioner of the Met, Steve Rodhouse, wrote a letter of apology to the solicitors of Brittan's widow.<ref>{{cite news |last=Halliday |first=Josh |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/07/scotland-yard-apologises-to-lord-brittans-widow-over-claim |title=Scotland Yard apologises to Lord Brittan's widow over rape claim |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=7 October 2015 |access-date=8 October 2015}}</ref>

In October 2014, the Labour MP [[Jimmy Hood]] used [[parliamentary privilege]] to refer to claims that Brittan had been linked to child abuse.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dominiczak|first= Peter |date=26 October 2014|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11194280/Labour-MP-is-condemned-for-linking-Leon-Brittan-to-child-abuse.html |title=Labour MP is condemned for linking Leon Brittan to child abuse|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|access-date=20 February 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite Hansard |date=28 October 2014 |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm141028/debtext/141028-0003.htm#141028103001800  |house=House of Commons |title=Coalfield Communities |column=255 |access-date= 19 November 2014}}</ref>
After Brittan died in January 2015, Watson accused him of "multiple child rape"; he said he had spoken to two people who claimed they were abused by Brittan.<ref>{{cite news |last=Millmo |first=Cahal |title=Leon Brittan sex abuse allegations: Two come forward to claim they were abused by former Home Secretary |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/leon-brittan-sex-abuse-allegations-two-come-forward-to-claim-they-were-abused-by-former-home-secretary-10001676.html |work=The Independent on Sunday |location=London |date=25 January 2015 |access-date=20 February 2021}}</ref> Convicted fraudster Chris Fay<ref name="fay">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11893906/VIP-child-abuse-ring-accuser-served-time-in-prison-for-fraud.html |title= 'VIP child abuse ring' accuser served time in prison for fraud |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location= London |first=Robert |last=Mendick |date=26 September 2015 |access-date=30 July 2019}}</ref> alleged that he had seen a photograph of Brittan with a child at [[Elm Guest House]] in mid-1982.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hanning |first=James |title=Lord Brittan: The accusations against the former Home Secretary that refused to die |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/lord-brittan-the-accusations-against-the-former-home-secretary-that-refused-to-die-10000618.html |access-date=8 February 2015 |work=The Independent on Sunday |location= London |date=25 January 2015}}</ref> In March 2015, it was reported that detectives from [[Operation Midland]], set up by the Metropolitan Police to investigate claims of child sex abuse, had visited and searched two homes in London and Yorkshire formerly owned by Brittan.<ref>{{cite news |last=Barrett |first=David |title=Police search home of Lord Bramall as part of paedophile sex abuse inquiry |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11457405/Police-search-home-of-Lord-Bramall-as-part-of-paedophile-sex-abuse-inquiry.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=8 March 2015 |access-date=20 February 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> One of Brittan's accusers subsequently told BBC's ''[[Panorama (British TV programme)|Panorama]]'' that he originally named Brittan as a joke and told the Metropolitan Police that two well-known campaigners may have led him into making false claims.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Halliday |first1=Josh |title=Panorama report: sex abuse claim against Leon Brittan 'began as joke' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/06/sex-abuse-claim-against-leon-brittan-began-as-joke-bbc-report|access-date=30 July 2019|work=The Guardian|place=London|date=7 October 2015}}</ref> On 21 March 2016, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that Operation Midland had been closed without any charges being brought.<ref name=guardian210316>{{cite news |author1=Laville, Sandra |author2=Syal, Rajeev |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/mar/21/last-living-suspect-harvey-proctor-vip-paedophile-ring-inquiry-will-face-no-charges |title= Operation Midland: inquiry into alleged VIP paedophile ring collapses |work=The Guardian |location= London |date=21 March 2016 |access-date= 22 March 2016}}</ref>

On 1 September 2017, it was reported that the Metropolitan Police had paid substantial compensation to Brittan's widow for having raided the Brittans' home "after accepting that the searches had been unjustified and should never have taken place."<ref>{{cite news |first=Martin |last=Evans |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/01/met-police-pays-compensation-lord-bramall-lady-brittan-disastrous/ |title=Met Police pays compensation to Lord Bramall and Lady Brittan over disastrous Operation Midland investigation |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location= London |date= 1 September 2017 |access-date=2 September 2017}}</ref> Carl Beech, whose claims spurred Operation Midland, was convicted of [[perverting the course of justice]] in July 2019.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/22/nick-trial-carl-beech-found-guilty-making-westminster-vip-paedophile/|title=Carl Beech aka Nick found guilty of making up Westminster VIP paedophile ring |last=Evans|first=Martin|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=22 July 2019|access-date=22 July 2019}}</ref>

==Honours==
Brittan was created a [[life peer]] by [[Elizabeth II|the Queen]]. He took the title ''Baron Brittan of Spennithorne'', ''of [[Spennithorne]] in the [[County of North Yorkshire]]'' on 9 February 2000.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> He sat with the Conservative Party benches in the [[House of Lords]].

===Commonwealth honours===
{{Expand list|date=September 2021}}

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Country
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:55%;"| Appointment
! style="width:5%;"| Post-nominal letters
|-
| {{Flagu|United Kingdom}} || '''1978{{spaced ndash}}21 January 2015''' || [[Queen's Counsel]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Sir Leon Brittan European Commission Vice President |url=http://aei.pitt.edu/74781/1/BIO_-_EN_-_Brittan.pdf |website=University of Pittsburgh |access-date=2 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref> ||  QC
|-
| {{Flagu|United Kingdom}} || '''1981{{spaced ndash}}21 January 2015''' || [[Privy Council (United Kingdom)|Member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council]] || PC
|-
| {{Flagu|United Kingdom}} || '''31 December 1988{{spaced ndash}}21 January 2015''' || [[Knight Bachelor]] || Kt
|-
| {{Flagu|United Kingdom}} || '''1 August 2001{{spaced ndash}}25 September 2014''' || [[Deputy Lieutenant]] of [[North Yorkshire]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Deputy Lieutenant Commissions Lieutenancy of the County of North Yorkshire |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/L-56292-245 |website=The London Gazette |access-date=2 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref> || DL
|-
|}

===Foreign honours===
{{Expand list|date=September 2021}}

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Country
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:55%;"| Appointment
! style="width:5%;"| Post-nominal letters
|-
| {{Flagu|Estonia}} ||  || [[Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana]] (2nd Class) || 
|-
|}

===Scholastic===
{{Expand list|date=September 2021}}

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
|+ Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:40%;"| School
! style="width:20%;"| Position
|-
| {{Flagu|England}} || '''1993{{ndash}}2005''' || [[Teesside University]] || [[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]]
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
|+ Honorary degrees
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:40%;"| School
! style="width:20%;"| Degree
! style="width:20%;"| Gave Commencement Address
|-
| {{Flagu|England}} || '''1990''' || [[Newcastle University]] || [[Doctor of Civil Law]] (DCL)<ref>{{cite web |title=Newcastle University Honorary Graduates |url=https://www.ncl.ac.uk/media/wwwnclacuk/congregations/files/Hon%20Degrees%20Awarded%20with%20Themes%202018.pdf |website=Newcastle University |access-date=2 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref>  || 
|-
| {{Flagu|England}} || '''1990''' || [[University of Hull]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D)<ref>{{cite web |title=Sir Leon Brittan European Commission Vice President |url=http://aei.pitt.edu/74781/1/BIO_-_EN_-_Brittan.pdf |website=University of Pittsburgh |access-date=2 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref>  || 
|-
| {{Flagu|Scotland}} || '''1991''' || [[University of Edinburgh]] || Doctorate<ref>{{cite web |title=University of Edinburgh Honorary Graduates Database |url=http://www.scripts.sasg.ed.ac.uk/registry/Graduations/Honorary_Graduates.cfm |website=University of Edinburgh |access-date=2 September 2021 |language=en |archive-date=1 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150901034227/http://www.scripts.sasg.ed.ac.uk/registry/Graduations/Honorary_Graduates.cfm |url-status=dead }}</ref>  || 
|-
| {{Flagu|England}} || '''1992''' || [[University of Bradford]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D)<ref>{{cite web |title=Sir Leon Brittan European Commission Vice President |url=http://aei.pitt.edu/74781/1/BIO_-_EN_-_Brittan.pdf |website=University of Pittsburgh |access-date=2 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref>  || 
|-
| {{Flagu|England}} || '''1992''' || [[University of Durham]] || [[Doctor of Civil Law]] (DCL)<ref>{{cite web |title=University of Durham Honorary Degrees |url=https://www.dur.ac.uk/university.calendar/volumei/honorary_degrees/ |website=University of Durham |access-date=3 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref>  || 
|-
| {{Flagu|England}} || '''1995''' || [[University of Bath]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D)<ref>{{cite web |title=Honorary graduates, 1990 to 1999 |url=https://www.bath.ac.uk/corporate-information/honorary-graduates-1990-to-1999/ |website=University of Bath |access-date=2 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref>  || 
|-
| {{Flagu|England}} ||  || [[Teesside University]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D)<ref>{{cite web |title=Teesside University Honorary Graduates |url=https://www.tees.ac.uk/sections/alumni/hon_grads.cfm |website=Teesside University |access-date=3 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref>  || 
|-
|}

===Memberships and fellowships===
{{Expand list|date=September 2021}}

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Country
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:40%;"| Organisation
! style="width:20%;"| Position
|-
| {{Flagu|United Kingdom}} || '''1960'''  || [[Cambridge Union]] || [[List of presidents of the Cambridge Union|President]]
|-
| {{Flagu|United Kingdom}} || '''1983{{spaced ndash}}21 January 2015'''  || [[Inner Temple]] || [[Bencher]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Sir Leon Brittan European Commission Vice President |url=http://aei.pitt.edu/74781/1/BIO_-_EN_-_Brittan.pdf |website=University of Pittsburgh |access-date=2 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|}

==Arms==
{{Infobox COA wide
|image = Brittan of Spennithorne Achievement.png
|escutcheon = Or two bars engrailed Vert between three curlews' heads erased in pale Gules.
|crest = A Wensleydale sheep guardant Argent unguled Or and supporting with the dexter forefoot a quiver Vert banded Or the arrows Gules.
|supporters = Dexter a lion guardant Argent gorged with a plain collar attached thereto a chain reflexed over the back Or, sinister a bull guardant Argent unguled armed and gorged with a plain collar attached thereto a chain reflexed over the back Or.
|motto = Ne Umquam Desistas<ref>{{cite book|title=Debrett's Peerage |title-link=Debrett's |date=2008}}</ref>}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=ODNB>{{cite ODNB
  | doi         = 10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.109058
  | title       = Brittan, Leon, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne (1939–2015), politician
  | first       = Norman
  | last        = Lamont
  | author-link = Norman Lamont
  | date        = 10 January 2019
  }}</ref>
}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* {{Hansard-contribs|mr-leon-brittan|Leon Brittan}}
* {{NPG name}}
* [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/minutes/000229/ldminute.htm Announcement of his introduction at the House of Lords] (House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 29 February 2000)

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