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Nicholas Soames

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The Right Honourable
Sir Nicholas Soames
MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
In office
6 November 2003 – 10 May 2005
LeaderMichael Howard
Preceded byBernard Jenkin
Succeeded byMichael Ancram
Minister of State for the Armed Forces
In office
14 June 1994 – 2 May 1997
Prime MinisterJohn Major
Preceded byJeremy Hanley
Succeeded byJohn Reid
Member of Parliament
for Mid Sussex
Assumed office
1 May 1997
Preceded byTim Renton
Majority7,402 (13.3%)
Member of Parliament
for Crawley
In office
9 June 1983 – 1 May 1997
Preceded byPeter Hordern
(Horhsam and Crawley)
Succeeded byLaura Moffatt
Personal details
Born
Arthur Nicholas Winston Soames

(1948-02-12) 12 February 1948 (age 76)
Croydon, Surrey, England, UK
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)Catherine Weatherall (1981-1988)
Serena Smith, Lady Soames (married 1993)
RelationsLord and Lady Soames (parents)

Sir Arthur Nicholas Winston Soames MP (born 12 February 1948) is a British Conservative Party Member of Parliament for the constituency of Mid Sussex.

Soames is a former Defence minister having served in the government of John Major (1994–97). His main political interests are defence, international relations, rural affairs and industry. He is also chairman of the private security contractor Aegis.[1]

Personal life

Chapel of Eton College

Soames was born in Croydon and is a grandson of the British wartime prime minister Sir Winston Churchill, the son of Lord and Lady Soames, a nephew of the former Defence Secretary Duncan Sandys, Diana Churchill, the journalist Randolph Churchill and the actress and dancer Sarah Churchill and a great-nephew of the founders of the Scout movement, Robert Baden-Powell and Olave Baden-Powell. His brother is the industrialist Rupert Soames.

He has been married twice. His first marriage (4 June 1981 – 1988) was to Catherine Weatherall [2] (the sister of Isobel Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne), by whom he has one son, Harry Soames.

He married, secondly, Serena Smith (a niece of the Duchess of Grafton) on 21 December 1993. They have one son, and a daughter called Isabella Soames.

Road safety record

On 15 May 2008 Soames was disqualified from driving for two months, fined £200 and was ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge and costs of £35 by Crawley magistrates after he pleaded guilty to riding a quad bike on a public road without insurance.

A photograph of Soames driving with passengers, who included three children and a pregnant woman, was taken from footage filmed by hunt saboteurs in Slaugham, West Sussex, on New Year's Day. It was given to the police and published by the Daily Mirror.[3]

In 2012 he was disqualified from driving for speeding 51 mph in a 30 mph residential area in Handcross. Soames was fined £666, with £85 court costs and a £15 victim surcharge and banned for 2 weeks.[4] The Argus, a Sussex paper, describes him as an 'anti-speed MP'.[5] According to the Argus, it was 'the third time he has been caught flouting traffic laws in four years'. After the ruling at Mid Sussex Magistrates’ Court on 17 October 2012, the Mid Sussex Conservative MP told The Argus: “These things happen. Haven’t you ever gone over the speed limit?” The speeding incident angered Brake, a campaigning road safety charity, which said, “speed limits are in place for everyone’s safety, and it is particularly alarming to see a public figure like Nicholas Soames repeatedly flouting traffic laws and needlessly putting lives at risk. A two-week ban and a £666 fine is simply not enough, and we would like to see courts hand out tougher penalties to traffic offenders in order to create a real deterrent.”

Career

Education and military career

After attending St. Aubyns Preparatory School in Sussex, he received his secondary education at Eton College. Later, he studied at Mons Officer Cadet School. He served in the 11th Hussars in West Germany and Britain. [citation needed]

Early career

In 1970 he was named Equerry to HRH The Prince of Wales, he has remained a close friend of the Prince ever since and publicly criticised Diana, Princess of Wales, during the couple's estrangement. When Diana first accused the Prince of Wales of adultery with Camilla Parker Bowles, Soames told the BBC that the accusation, and Diana's fear of being slandered by her husband's courtiers, stemmed merely from Diana's mental illness, and "the advanced stages of paranoia".[6] Charles later admitted his adultery and Soames apologised. When questioned by the inquest into the death of Diana, Soames said that he saw his job as "to speak up for the Prince of Wales". He denied threatening Diana, and warning her, "accidents happen" in the months before she died.[7]

In 1972 he left to work as a stockbroker. In 1974, he became a personal assistant; first to Sir James Goldsmith and then in 1976 to United States Senator Mark Hatfield, whose service he left in 1978 to become a director of Bland Welch, Lloyd's Brokers. Between 1979-81, he was an assistant director of the Sedgwick Group. [citation needed]

Parliamentary career

Soames has been an MP since the 1983 general election. He represented Crawley from 1983 up until the 1997 general election (when Labour replaced Conservatives in Crawley and in government). In the election he won the constituency of Mid Sussex and has remained its MP since.

He has served as a Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food between 1992 and 1994, Minister of State for the Armed Forces at the Ministry of Defence under John Major between 1994 and 1997 and as the Shadow Secretary of State for Defence 2003-2005. He is also the chairman of Framlington Second Dual Trust plc and chairman of Aegis Defence Services.[8]

During the rebellion by eurosceptic Conservative MPs against the Maastricht Treaty, Soames threatened to close down a meat-processing company owned by rebel Conservative MP Christopher Gill. Soames, Minister for Food at the time, reportedly told Gill "I will close every abattoir you own".

On 9 May 2005, shortly after Michael Howard announced his intention to resign as leader of the Conservative Party, Soames resigned from the shadow cabinet. He immediately ended speculation that he intended to stand for the post of leader, saying that he merely wanted to be free to think about and influence the future of the party. He added that he was interested in joining the executive of the 1922 Committee. He later announced his support for David Cameron.[9]

According to the book Women in Parliament published in 2005, Soames has been named as the 'most sexist' MP, with several female MPs stating that he has made vulgar comments to them.[10] In other accusations of sexual harassment it has been alleged that Soames makes repeated cupping gestures with his hands, suggestive of female breasts, when women are trying to speak in parliament, in order to distract them.[11] He allegedly harassed Alastair Campbell by telephoning him and saying "you sex god, you Adonis, you the greatest of all great men". However, unknown to Soames, he was actually speaking to Campbell's young son.[12]

In November 2010, Soames told the Mail on Sunday newspaper that remarks about a royal wedding made by the Bishop of Willesden, the Rt Rev Pete Broadbent, were "extremely rude, not what one expects from a bishop."[13]

On 13 July 2011, Soames was sworn of the Privy Council.[14] He was knighted in the 2014 Birthday Honours for political service.[15][16]

Insignia of a Knight Bachelor

Political funding

Mid Sussex Conservative Constituency Association has received over £1 million in donations, with Soames receiving well over £100,000 from private military company Aegis Defence Services Ltd from 2010 onwards.[17] US multinational professional services, risk management and insurance brokerage firm Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc has given Soames £518,069 since 2010 in remunerations for his services as an MP.[18] Soames has also received private donations from a variety of people, including £5,749 from Majlis As Shura, £10,000 from David Rowland, and £20,000 from Ann R Said.[19]

Ancestry

Family of Nicholas Soames
16. Arthur Soames
8. Harold Soames
17. Anna Gilstrap
4. Arthur Granville Soames
18. George Hill
9. Katharine Hill
19. Georgina Wilkins
2. Christopher Soames, Baron Soames
20. Sir Woodbine Parish
10. Charles Parish
21. Amelia Morse
5. Hope Parish
22. Hon. John Sandilands
11. Hon. Helen Sandilands
23. Helen Hope
1. Rt. Hon. Nicholas Soames
24. John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough
12. Rt. Hon. Lord Randolph Spencer-Churchill
25. Lady Frances Vane
6. Rt. Hon. Sir Winston Spencer-Churchill
26. Leonard Jerome
13. Jeanette Jerome
27. Clarissa Hall
3. Mary Spencer-Churchill
28. James Hozier
14. Sir Henry Hozier
29. Catherine Feilden
7. Clementine Spencer-Churchill (née Hozier), Baroness Spencer-Churchill
30. David Ogilvy, 10th Earl of Airlie
15. Lady Henrietta Ogilvy
31. Hon. Blanche Stanley

References

  1. ^ "www.aegisworld.com". www.aegisworld.com. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  2. ^ "Capt Anthony Edward Weatherall 1924-2013".
  3. ^ Macintyre, James (15 May 2008). "Illegal ride on a quad bike lands Soames with a driving ban". The Independent. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  4. ^ ""It won't affect me": Tory grandee's boast after he's banned after third speeding offence in four years". Mirror.co.uk. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  5. ^ "'Anti-speed' Sussex MP tells of shame at totting ban". Theargus.co.uk. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  6. ^ Christopher Wilson. The Windsor knot. Books.google.com. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  7. ^ Inquest into death of Princess Diana, scottbaker-inquests.gov.uk; accessed 16 June 2014.
  8. ^ "Management". Aegisworld.com. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  9. ^ Brogan, Benedict (29 August 2005). "Top Tories back Clarke as party's leader-in-waiting". Daily Mail.
  10. ^ Simon Hoggart (28 April 2010). "Ferocious fight for fat toff who has heard it all before". Guardian. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  11. ^ Rachel Cooke (23 April 2007). "Nicholas Soames". Observer.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  12. ^ Assinder, Nick (9 July 2007). "Alastair Campbell". BBC News. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  13. ^ "Bishop apologises for Facebook rant". Bbc.co.uk. 22 November 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  14. ^ "Privy Council Office — Orders for 13 July 2011" (PDF). Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  15. ^ "No. 60895". The London Gazette (invalid |supp= (help)). 14 June 2014.
  16. ^ "Trio of MPs honoured in Queen's Birthday Honours List".
  17. ^ http://www.searchthemoney.com/profile/561/194
  18. ^ http://www.searchthemoney.com/profile/561/188
  19. ^ Donations to Soames, searchthemoney.com; accessed 16 June 2014.

External links

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