Nicholas Lyell: Difference between revisions
section |
→Political career: matrix churchill |
||
Line 49: | Line 49: | ||
Commenting on Lyell's retirement as an MP, Conservative Party chairman [[Michael Ancram]] said: |
Commenting on Lyell's retirement as an MP, Conservative Party chairman [[Michael Ancram]] said: |
||
{{cquote|Nick Lyell served his country and his party extremely well as attorney general and in a number of other senior roles in the last Conservative Government and he has been a tireless servant of his constituents during his 21 years in Parliament. His presence will be missed by all at Westminster. I am extremely grateful for all the years of service Nick has put in for the Conservative Party and I wish him well in his retirement.}} |
{{cquote|Nick Lyell served his country and his party extremely well as attorney general and in a number of other senior roles in the last Conservative Government and he has been a tireless servant of his constituents during his 21 years in Parliament. His presence will be missed by all at Westminster. I am extremely grateful for all the years of service Nick has put in for the Conservative Party and I wish him well in his retirement.}} |
||
===Matrix Churchill affair=== |
|||
Lyell was at the centre of the [[Matrix Churchill]] affair, the controversy to sell arms to [[Saddam Hussein]]'s [[Iraq]]. In 1996, the Scott Report directly criticised Lyell as Attorney General for trying to obtain a "gagging order" to prevent the disclosure of secret documents concerning machine tool and material supply to Baghdad. Prime Minister John Major choose to stand by Lyell.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1307545/Former-law-chief-Lord-Lyell-dies-cancer-71.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0y8eSUt9L|title=Former law chief Lord Lyell dies of cancer at 71|publisher=Daily Mail}}</ref> |
|||
==Peerage== |
==Peerage== |
Revision as of 00:27, 31 August 2010
The Lord Lyell of Markyate | |
---|---|
Attorney General for England and Wales Attorney General for Northern Ireland | |
In office 10 April 1992 – 2 May 1997 | |
Prime Minister | John Major |
Preceded by | Patrick Mayhew |
Succeeded by | John Morris |
Solicitor General for England and Wales | |
In office 13 June 1987 – 10 April 1992 | |
Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher John Major |
Preceded by | Patrick Mayhew |
Succeeded by | Derek Spencer |
Member of Parliament for North East Bedfordshire | |
In office 1 May 1997 – 7 June 2001 | |
Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | Alistair Burt |
Member of Parliament for Mid Bedfordshire | |
In office 9 June 1983 – 1 May 1997 | |
Preceded by | Stephen Hastings |
Succeeded by | Jonathan Sayeed |
Member of Parliament for Hemel Hempstead | |
In office 3 May 1979 – 9 June 1983 | |
Preceded by | Robin Corbett |
Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | London, United Kingdom | 6 December 1938
Died | 30 August 2010 |
Political party | Conservative |
Nicholas Walter Lyell, Baron Lyell of Markyate, QC, PC (6 December 1938 - 30 August 2010) was a British Conservative politician and was for much of his active political career known as Sir Nicholas Lyell.
Early life
Educated at Stowe School, he trained as a Lawyer.
Political career
Lyell was elected Member of Parliament for Hemel Hempstead winning the seat from labour in 1979, then Mid Bedfordshire from 1983, and moved to North East Bedfordshire at the 1997 election.
Lord Lyell was one of very few lawyers to have combined a successful career in Parliament and a major private practice. He was also the longest continuously serving law officer for more than 100 years. After 20 years at the Bar he was appointed Solicitor-General from 1987 to 1992 under Margaret Thatcher, and Attorney General for England and Wales and Northern Ireland under John Major from 1992 to 1997. He stood down as an MP at the 2001 election.[1]
Commenting on Lyell's retirement as an MP, Conservative Party chairman Michael Ancram said:
Nick Lyell served his country and his party extremely well as attorney general and in a number of other senior roles in the last Conservative Government and he has been a tireless servant of his constituents during his 21 years in Parliament. His presence will be missed by all at Westminster. I am extremely grateful for all the years of service Nick has put in for the Conservative Party and I wish him well in his retirement.
Matrix Churchill affair
Lyell was at the centre of the Matrix Churchill affair, the controversy to sell arms to Saddam Hussein's Iraq. In 1996, the Scott Report directly criticised Lyell as Attorney General for trying to obtain a "gagging order" to prevent the disclosure of secret documents concerning machine tool and material supply to Baghdad. Prime Minister John Major choose to stand by Lyell.[2]
Peerage
On 13 May, 2005, it was announced that he would be created a life peer,[3] and on 27 June 2005 he was created Baron Lyell of Markyate, of Markyate in the County of Hertfordshire.[4]
Other interests
Lyell was a former Chairman of the Board of Governors of Stowe School, standing down from the role at the end of the 2006-07 academic year. Always interested in the countryside and culture, he was from 2005 Chairman of the Federation of British Artists at the Mall Galleries in London.
Personal life
Married to Susanna, the couple had with two sons and two daughters. Lyell died at his home after a 12 year battle with cancer on 30 August, 2010.[5]
References
- ^ "Tory MP to step down". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 24 March 2000. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- ^ "Former law chief Lord Lyell dies of cancer at 71". Daily Mail.
- ^ "Full list of new life peers". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 13 May 2005. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- ^ "House of Lords Journal 239 (Session 2005-06)". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 4 July 2005. p. 124. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- ^ "Former Attorney General Lord Lyell dies aged 71". BBC New. August 30, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
External links
- 1938 births
- Attorneys General for England and Wales
- Attorneys General for Northern Ireland
- Conservative MPs (UK)
- Life peers
- 2010 deaths
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
- Northern Ireland Government ministers
- Old Stoics
- Politics of Dacorum
- Solicitors General for England and Wales
- UK MPs 1979–1983
- UK MPs 1983–1987
- UK MPs 1987–1992
- UK MPs 1992–1997
- UK MPs 1997–2001