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Q: How many British MPs have been to jail? ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   3 Comments )
Question  
Subject: How many British MPs have been to jail?
Category: Relationships and Society > Government
Asked by: probonopublico-ga
List Price: $10.00
Posted: 28 Jun 2003 08:39 PDT
Expires: 28 Jul 2003 08:39 PDT
Question ID: 222827
Before, during or after their term in office.

Start with Robert Walpole (I think he was in The Tower) and include
Oswald Mosley, Jock Ramsay and John Beckett (wartime internees).

There's evidence that W E D Allen (Bill) was also briefly interned.

Exclude folks like Winston Churchill who was a Prisoner of War during
the Boer War.

Many thanks.
Answer  
Subject: Re: How many British MPs have been to jail?
Answered By: leli-ga on 28 Jun 2003 14:34 PDT
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Hi Bryan!

Thanks for accepting my list as your answer. And thanks for the
hush-hush stuff about Allen - interesting that he kept company with
Moseley *and* Burgess.

I already had a handful of later 20th century M.Ps. plus Wilkes and
Bottomley when I found this interesting page about expulsions from the
House of Commons:
http://www.election.demon.co.uk/expulsions.html

Expulsion seems to be better documented than imprisonment per se,
presumably because it has to be recorded officially. The BBC has this
to say about it:

"Imprisoned MPs
Anyone convicted of an offence and sentenced to imprisonment for more
than one year, who is serving that sentence at the time of an
election, cannot stand for Parliament.
A sitting MP convicted and imprisoned for more than one year must
vacate their seat.
The Speaker normally reports the imprisonment of a member to the
House, except perhaps in cases where the stay in prison is very short.
Since 1945 only two MPs have left or been expelled from the House for
this reason - P Baker (Conservative) in 1954, and John Stonehouse
(Labour) in 1976.
Sinn Fein MP Bobby Sands although imprisoned, was not sentenced, and
could therefore stand for Parliament, though he never took his seat.
Mr Sands was in prison in Northern Ireland and was elected while on
hunger strike in April 1981. He died shortly afterwards.
Terry Fields, Labour MP from 1983-92, was imprisoned for non-payment
of the community charge, but not for long enough to disqualify him
from Parliament."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/a-z_of_parliament/h-l/82467.stm

Then there's this extract from a 1991 Parliamentary debate:

" The Representation of the People Act 1981 consolidated earlier
measures and included the rule that if anyone has been imprisoned for
one or more acts here in Britain or in Ireland for more than 12
months, he or she cannot sit as a Member of this place. There have
been only five occasions over the past 100 years when that rule has
been brought into operation. It will come as no surprise to hon.
Members when I say that two cases involved Liberals and the other
three involved Tories. The Opposition have a clean sheet."

Dave Nellist was speaking there, but not quite correctly. Stonehouse
must have been one of his "five occasions" and he was a Labour MP.
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199091/cmhansrd/1991-10-16/Debate-3.html

This inspired me to find one more name:

"Mr. George W. Hastings, M.P., misappropriating to himself, a trustee,
about 20,000l.,the property of the children of Major John Brown,
pleaded guilty ; sentenced to 5 years' penal servitude    March, 1892"
http://www.yeoldesussexpages.co.uk/misc/genealog/trials10.txt


Perhaps not surprisingly, it looks as if most M.Ps. who end up in jail
are there for financial crime or for law-breaking inspired by
beliefs/principles.


===============================
18 M.Ps.who have been in prison
===============================


Robert Walpole
http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page174.asp

John Wilkes - in the Tower like Walpole
http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/society7.htm

Benjamin Walsh ("the prisoner" then pardoned)
http://www.law.utexas.edu/lpop/etext/newgate5/walsh.htm

Thomas Cochrane - this page says he was innocent 
http://www.hms.org.uk/nelsonsnavycochrane.htm

Charles Bradlaugh - "freethinker"
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRbradlaugh.htm
http://athena.english.vt.edu/~jmooney/3044biosa-g/bradlaugh.html

Edward Samuel Wesley de Cobain - "gross indecency"
http://www.election.demon.co.uk/expulsions.html
(The list in the link above suggests more possible names for library
research.)

George Hastings - 5 years penal servitude
http://www.yeoldesussexpages.co.uk/misc/genealog/trials10.txt

Horatio Bottomley - breakfasted on kippers and champagne, no prison
uniform to fit him
http://www.aftermathww1.com/horatio2.asp
http://www.sussexlife.co.uk/gils_guide/upper_dicker.html

Oswald Moseley - interned
http://www.shef.ac.uk/library/special/bunion.html

John Beckett - interned
http://members.lycos.co.uk/mere_pseud_mag_ed/History/MadDogs1.htm

Maule Ramsay - interned
http://members.lycos.co.uk/mere_pseud_mag_ed/History/MadDogs1.htm

Peter Baker - forgery
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/a-z_of_parliament/e-g/82139.stm

John Stonehouse - found after faking his own death
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/226643.stm

Bobby Sands - IRA
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/10/newsid_2453000/2453183.stm

Bernadette Devlin - Irish republican
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/17/newsid_2524000/2524881.stm

Terry Fields - poll tax rebel
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/a-z_of_parliament/h-l/82467.stm

Jeffrey Archer - the writer
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Archer

Jonathan Aitken - "geezer with wonderful joined-up writing"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/364174.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2133337.stm


For me, this was an interesting mixture of familiar and unfamiliar
names, and I enjoyed looking into your question. As you know, you're
very welcome to ask for clarification as needed.


Regards - Leli


My searches involved shuffling round these search terms:
MP MPs member members parliament
prison jail gaol imprisoned jailed sentenced convicted expelled 
interned internee internees
and searching on individual names

Clarification of Answer by leli-ga on 28 Jun 2003 15:51 PDT
And another:

"Lieutenant Edmund Hope Verney RN
12 May 1891 expelled from Parliament, after [being] sentenced to one
year imprisonment for a misdemeanour ("procuring a girl under the age
of 21, Miss Nellie Maud Baskett, for an immoral purpose")"
http://home.planet.nl/~pdavis/Verney.htm
probonopublico-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars
Many thanks, Leli

A perfect 5 star answer.

You are up there with the best!

Comments  
Subject: Re: How many British MPs have been to jail?
From: leli-ga on 28 Jun 2003 11:16 PDT
 
How many?

Interesting to research - but I don't think I have much chance of
giving you an accurate answer to "how many?"

There are eighteen names here (including your suggestions). Though I'd
like to think I've caught most names from 1900 on, I suspect there
should be more from  the 18th and 19th century.

So here's a start - for you and the next researcher . . .

Robert Walpole
http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page174.asp

John Aislabie
http://26.1911encyclopedia.org/S/SO/SOUTH_SEA_BUBBLE.htm

John Wilkes
http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/society7.htm

Benjamin Walsh ("the prisoner", then pardoned)
http://www.law.utexas.edu/lpop/etext/newgate5/walsh.htm

Thomas Cochrane
http://www.hms.org.uk/nelsonsnavycochrane.htm

Charles Bradlaugh
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRbradlaugh.htm
http://athena.english.vt.edu/~jmooney/3044biosa-g/bradlaugh.html

Edward Samuel Wesley de Cobain
http://www.election.demon.co.uk/expulsions.html
(The list on the site above suggests more possible names for library
research.)

Horatio Bottomley
http://www.aftermathww1.com/horatio2.asp

Oswald Moseley
http://www.shef.ac.uk/library/special/bunion.html

John Beckett
http://members.lycos.co.uk/mere_pseud_mag_ed/History/MadDogs1.htm

Maule Ramsay
http://members.lycos.co.uk/mere_pseud_mag_ed/History/MadDogs1.htm

Peter Baker
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/a-z_of_parliament/e-g/82139.stm

John Stonehouse
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/226643.stm

Bobby Sands
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/10/newsid_2453000/2453183.stm

Bernadette Devlin
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/17/newsid_2524000/2524881.stm

Terry Fields
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/a-z_of_parliament/h-l/82467.stm

Jeffrey Archer

Jonathan Aitken

By the way, no mention on the net of WED Allen as internee, only as
MI6 informant:
http://members.lycos.co.uk/mere_pseud_mag_ed/History/MadDogs2.htm#WED%20Allen


Leli
Subject: Re: How many British MPs have been to jail?
From: probonopublico-ga on 28 Jun 2003 12:07 PDT
 
Hi, Leli

That's MOST impressive!

Includes names that I've never heard and people (like Sands & Devlin)
that I'd forgotten were MPs.

It's not generally known that Bill Allen was interned, probably
because of his Fascist sympathies. (He was active behind the scenes in
helping Mosley and he also wrote a book on Fascism under a pseudonym.)

However, he was quickly released, probably because, before the war,
he'd also helped Guy Burgess to set up a propaganda radio station in
Europe.

Allen's file in the PRO was also released for a time but it was
quickly recaptured.

But PLEASE don't tell anyone! 

Please post an answer.

QUICK!

Regards

Bryan
Subject: Re: How many British MPs have been to jail?
From: leli-ga on 29 Jun 2003 06:53 PDT
 
Thank-you for the kind words and stars!

Leli

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