Andrew MacKinlay
| Andrew MacKinlay | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Thurrock |
|
| In office 9 April 1992 – 6 May 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Timothy Janman |
| Succeeded by | Jackie Doyle-Price |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 April 1949 London, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse(s) | Ruth Segar |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Andrew Stuart MacKinlay (born 24 April 1949) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Thurrock from 1992 until he stepped down at the 2010 general election.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Andrew Mackinlay was educated variously at St Joseph's School, Wembley [1]; Our Lady Immaculate Primary School, Tolworth; the Salesian College (grammar school, now called Salesian School) on Highfield Road in Chertsey; and Kingston College.
He worked for ten years from 1965 as a committee clerk with Surrey County Council and from 1975 until his election to parliament he was a union official with the National Association of Local Government Officers (NALGO). He joined NALGO in 1965 and the Labour Party the following year. He was elected as a councillor in 1971 in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and served for seven years.
[edit] Parliamentary career
He stood unsuccessfully for Labour in the following elections:
- February 1974 General Election: Surbiton
- October 1974 General Election: Surbiton
- 1983 General Election: Croydon Central
- 1984 European Elections: London South & Surrey East division
- 1987 General Election: Peterborough
In 2003, he famously described Dr. David Kelly as "chaff" during Dr. Kelly's appearance before the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. His question was:
- I reckon you are chaff; you have been thrown up to divert our probing. Have you ever felt like a fall-guy? You have been set up, have you not?[1]
so in this context "chaff" is a reference to the radar countermeasure rather than to something of little value. It emerged during Kelly's subsequent inquest that Kelly had been deeply upset by his treatment before the Committee and he had privately described an MP, assumed to be MacKinlay, as an "utter bastard" [2][3] MacKinlay reportedly apologised to Kelly's wife for the remark following Kelly's death.
According to one report, in May 2007, MacKinlay made the nomination that resulted in Gordon Brown having enough nominations to be certain of not facing a contest over the leadership of the party.[4] However, another report states that the decisive nomination was made by Tony Wright[5] with MacKinlay yet to nominate at that point.
[edit] Notice of resignation
On 24 July 2009, he announced that he would not stand at the next General Election due to disillusionment with the way in which other MPs caved in to party pressure rather than standing up for their beliefs.[6] He said that the final straw was the failure of a number of Labour MPs who had expressed support for Gary McKinnon, awaiting extradition to the US on computer hacking charges, to vote against a review of the extradition treaty.[7]
[edit] Damages win
On 1 October 2009, MacKinlay accepted a public apology and libel damages from the BBC over allegations made on BBC2’s Newsnight programme that he proposed an amendment to a Government motion on MPs’ expenses so he would benefit financially.[8][9][10] The damages were reported as being £15,000.[11]
[edit] Afghanistan war
On 4 September 2009, MacKinlay supported the views of Eric Joyce on the Afghanistan war.[12]
[edit] Personal life
He is a keen researcher on World War I history, travelling and discovering Ireland, and is an honorary patron of Tilbury Football Club. He married his wife Ruth (née Segar) on 21 October 1972. They have two sons and a daughter. When an MP, he employed his wife as his Personal Assistant.[13] He is a member of the editorial board of the political magazine 'Total Politics',[14] whose editor is his daughter, Sarah MacKinlay.
[edit] Political views and controversy
He supports the abolition of the monarchy.[15]
On 28 June 2008 he was reported by Mail Online to have received a warning from Downing Street after MI5 discovered that he was holding meetings with a suspected Russian spy Alexander Polyakov, officially a counsellor at the Russian Embassy in London; it was also claimed that MacKinlay had been targeted by aides of Russia's richest man, Oleg Deripaska, as a 'stooge' for use in a High Court battle.[16]
[edit] References
- ^ Select Committee on Foreign Affairs Minutes of Evidence Q167
- ^ Neil Tweedie and Sandra Laville 'Dad said interrogator MP was utter bastard' The Daily Telegraph 2 September 2003. Retrieved 29 April 2009
- ^ Andrew Sparrow Why Mackinlay the Grand Inquisitor hit a raw nerve The Daily Telegraph 02 September 2003
- ^ Nick Robinson It's official. It's Brown 16 May 2007
- ^ BBC Brown will enter No 10 unopposed 16 May 2007
- ^ Andrew MacKinlay Quits Parliament
- ^ Labour MP resigns in fury over Gary McKinnon: Veteran who stood up for Asperger's victim quits over colleagues' hypocrisy
- ^ BBC Andrew MacKinlay MP - an apology
- ^ Labour MP wins apology and damages from BBC
- ^ Oliver Luft MP paid 'substantial damages' over Newsnight slur 2 October 2009
- ^ BLACK DOG At last, the steely gaze returns to No 10 1 November 2009 (fifth story)
- ^ BBC Joyce quit letter was 'right' 4 September 2009
- ^ Family jobs and parliamentary passes The Times 31 January 2008
- ^ "Total Politics - The Team". http://www.totalpolitics.com/editorialboard.php. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
- ^ He is listed as a supporter by Republic - the campaign group for an elected head of state. Our supporters
- ^ Owen, Glen (2008-06-28). "Labour MP pulled before chief whip for inviting 'Russian spy' to tea in the Commons". Mail Online. Daily Mail. http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1030235/Labour-MP-pulled-chief-whip-inviting-Russian-spy-tea-Commons.html. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
[edit] External links
- Andrew MacKinlay MP official site
- Andrew MacKinlay MP (at The Wayback Machine)
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Andrew MacKinlay
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Andrew Mackinlay MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Andrew MacKinlay MP
- Hutton inquiry witness 29 August 2003
- Thurrock Labour Party
- BBC Politics page
- Andrew Mackinlay speaks out in the House about the debt collection industry being "rotten to the core". 22 April 2009
- Veteran Labour MP Andrew Mackinlay on life with the Westminster awkward squad
[edit] News items
- On the benches: Andrew Mackinlay reviews the week in politics for BBC News Online 30 June 2000
- Democracy 'requires dissent' 18 October 2001
- Mackinlay defends Kelly grilling 26 August 2003
- Analysis: Chaff MP puts case 26 August 2003
- Committee MP defends relentless grilling of Kelly
- MP calls for border toll scheme 24 November 2006
[edit] Media files
- Mercenaries (BBC video 13 February 2002)
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Timothy Janman |
Member of Parliament for Thurrock 1992–2010 |
Succeeded by Jackie Doyle-Price |
- 1949 births
- Living people
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
- Labour Party (UK) politicians
- Labour Party (UK) MPs
- Councillors in Kingston upon Thames
- UK MPs 1992–1997
- UK MPs 1997–2001
- UK MPs 2001–2005
- UK MPs 2005–2010
- Politics of Thurrock
- People from Hampstead
- British republicans
- Local government officers in England
