David Hencke, "MP drops Young Tory libel action". Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O'Reilly learn about heart health, card. [117] At one point Hamilton quipped: "I've found it's much better making political jokes than being one. Hamilton said in his own evidence: "I have never received a penny from Mr Fayed; I have never asked. [9] Neil Hamilton's later failure in a libel case against the Egyptian businessman, Mohamed Al-Fayed,[10][11] would lead to her husband's bankruptcy. Burnside, a tough Ulsterman, was unamused by the Hamiltons' tricks. do twins eat each other in the womb; timmons group virginia beach. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Neil Hamilton hasn't changed, unfortunately, not one bit. Christine Hamilton was born on 10 November 1949 in England, UK. When it came to al-Fayed's supposed temptations, Neil Hamilton did have motive, means and opportunity. They went on the road in rep appearing in a revival of the Rocky Horror Show. Neil Hamilton: You have, and I think we need to have something to eat. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [24] On 21 November 1990, Hamilton and like-minded colleagues met Thatcher at Downing Street. Hamilton became widely associated with sleaze,[2] and was forced to resign his ministerial role. I have to inform you, Mr. Speaker, that it is but one of two tapes. Today I have sent a transcript of that tape to the Attorney-General. She attended Wentworth College, an independent boarding school for girls in Bournemouth[3] and a co-educational Grammar School in Christchurch, Dorset. Just days after their court defeat by al-Fayed, they appeared on the BBC's Have I Got News For You?, the satirical quiz show.During the programme the couple were handed brown envelopes in a mimic of the brown envelopes Neil Hamilton was supposed to have accepted from al-Fayed.Neil Hamilton was born on March 9, 1949, into a Welsh mining family. Funds for the action were donated by Lord Harris of High Cross, the Earl of Portsmouth and Taki, who raised 50,000. It transpired, however, that the couple had a watertight alibi. [4] His father was a chief engineer for the National Coal Board. (January 1987). Thanks to the rewind feature and internet access, the movie is pretty easy to understand. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [130], In 1992, Hamilton suffered a broken nose when he defended Harvey Proctor during a homophobic attack in Proctor's shirtmaking shop. "The sleaze report: Five men who fell below the standards that Parliament demands from an MP - Hamilton: cash and a stay at Ritz; Smith: accepted cash in return for lobbying; Grylls: Misled committee over dealings Bowden: Did not declare; Brown: Failed to register", Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs, 1995 Conservative Party leadership election, elections for the National Assembly for Wales, membership ballot for the leadership of UKIP in Wales, "The Hamilton Affair: Fayed demolishes Hamilton in the sleaze trial of the century", "UKIP: Ex-Conservative minister Neil Hamilton elected party leader", "Notes of the month: Parliamentary privilege", "Eldon League Wants To Abolish 20th Century", UK General Election results February 1974, "Hamilton's career came to crashing end over cash for questions scandal", "Register of Potential and Actual Peerage Cases in which the Debtor is a Member of the House of Commons including a Record of Returns Sent", "Hansard: Select Committee on Standards and Privileges First Report: VI. Select from premium Email Recipient of the highest quality. When they went to the police to give their statements they were accompanied by a television crew from the BBC whose offbeat documentary-maker Louis Theroux is filming them. Hamilton said he had coloured himself black in 1982 to look like Idi Amin and dressed as Canon James Owen on a boat on the River Cam. When Louis Met. [38] Hamilton was demoted from his role as campaign director in April 2014. Hamilton said that Powell "changed politics by articulating the fears and resentments of millions and millions of people who are being ignored by the establishment". He was a barrister but always said he would not return to that "constipated" profession.He married Christine in a hurried ceremony in Cornwall while he was fighting his parliamentary campaign in 1983.At that wedding, the Hamiltons typically used as a buttonhole the rose Invincible, specially grown, bred and named as a tribute to the Falklands task force.He was a very visible presence in the House of Commons. He criticised BBC Wales for excluding UKIP from the main leaders' debates, with Hamilton instead being invited to a separate debate alongside Reform UK and the Wales Green Party. Christine Hamilton: Oh darling, for God's sake. [115] After Clifford died in prison in December 2017, he was described by Hamilton as a "monster". News Staff. I hope this will now cease, together with set-ups and the surveillance and harassment of other witnesses; in my case by private security companies."[91]. Christine Hamilton, on I'm A Celebrity may not have been the good value that Natalie Appleton was, so far as public humiliation is concerned. He argued there was no evidence that leaded petrol was damaging the environment, or health, and that jobs would be lost in his constituency if leaded petrol was banned. Even so, there are two problems.The first is Neil Hamilton's vanity. HIGNFY S31E05 - Alexander Armstrong, Fern Britton & Andy Hamilton. [108][2] A year later, Hamilton lost his appeal against the decision,[109] and was refused leave to appeal to the House of Lords on 2 April 2001. At the the time the accusation was made, the Hamiltons were taking part in a television documentary, with Louis Theroux following them around has part of his When Louis Met series. [12] In April 2001, Hamilton said, "If I am bankrupt [which he was the following month],[13] I won't be able to return to the bar but even if I was able to do so, I couldn't contain myself from saying what I thought to some of the judges. Neil and Christine Hamilton Are Staging A Political Comeback He last won an election in 1992. Technically, the first time Neil appears onscreen is during the movie's opening moments at the opera house in Ukraine. [114] The same year, Clifford was jailed for sexual assaults on under-age girls. Hamilton was a teacher at St John's College in Southsea between 1973 and 1976. [40], In the elections for the National Assembly for Wales on 5 May 2016, he was elected as a Member of the National Assembly for Wales for the Mid and West Wales Region, one of seven UKIP candidates to win a seat through the Regional List system. Acting from 12 September 2020 to 18 October 2021. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. [35], In September 2011, Hamilton attended the annual conference of the UK Independence Party (UKIP). ", "Welsh Election 2016: Labour just short as UKIP wins seats", "UKIP's Farage attacks Hamilton's leadership victory", "Nathan Gill 'very disappointed' and Farage criticism 'irrelevant' - Neil Hamilton", "'Farage throwing toys out of pram', says Neil Hamilton", "Ukip's leader in Wales withdraws himself from his party in the Welsh Assembly", "UKIP MEP Nathan Gill told to quit as successor is 'ready', "Nathan Gill leaves UKIP assembly group to sit as independent", "Neil Hamilton out as UKIP assembly leader", "UKIP Wales members elect Gareth Bennett as assembly leader", "Sexism row over Neil Hamilton's maiden assembly speech", "Neil Hamilton apology for Brexit 'suicide' remark", "Newport West byelection: Labour retains seat amid Brexit chaos", "The Welsh AM who claimed 9,000 to get to Cardiff Bay from his home in England", "Neil Hamilton Appointed Interim Leader of UKIP", "Neil Hamilton brands BBC excluding UKIP from main leaders' debates "outrageous", "Election results: Labour remains in power in Wales after winning working Senedd majority", "2021 NEC and Leadership Election - The Results! [61], On 30 January 1984, a Panorama programme, "Maggie's Militant Tendency", was broadcast. He came under pressure to step down after the resignation of another minister, Tim Smith, on 19 October 1994, after Smith had admitted to taking money in the cash-for-questions affair. [105] Al-Fayed said Hamilton had taken the money either in brown envelope cash payments or through Ian Greer. Hamilton said he could "happily" work with Mr Bennett, but Jones said she had "a lot of thinking to do". bobalmighty. One employee is Clint "Bubba" O'Neil, Sports Reporter, who is . Hamilton attended Amman Valley Grammar School in Ammanford. [97] In December 1989, the sale of Skoal Bandit products was banned in the UK by the Secretary of State for Health, Kenneth Clarke. Hamilton was a member of the "No Turning Back group", advocating Thatcherite policies. The primary claim of corruption, by Mr Fayed, that he had given Hamilton cash in return for questions in the Commons, still stands. If he had been given a brown envelope, he would immediately have carved himself out a thick wad of dosh and shoved it in his wallet. [citation needed], In June 1990, Hamilton was recruited by the right-wing Monday Club activist Derek Laud to work for Strategy Network International, a firm specifically created to lobby against anti-apartheid movements and economic sanctions and for apartheid South Africa's 'transitional government' of Namibia set up in defiance of UN Resolution 435 on Namibian independence. [18], Hamilton also lent his support to the No Turning Back Group organised by his friend Michael Brown MP. "[85] Hamilton was under investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner as part of the cash for questions enquiry and some party members thought he should stand down after the collapse of his case against The Guardian. We were full of it, we were so excited about it.''. The Party Chairman Sir Norman Fowler was outraged, and said the Conservative Party was not related to the Western Goals Institute. This event was recorded on film by Louis Theroux, who, at that time, was spending time with the Hamiltons for an episode of his documentary series When Louis Met.[111], In June 2003, Nadine Milroy-Sloan, the woman responsible for the unfounded accusation, was sentenced to three years in jail for perverting the course of justice. They each paid 7,500 towards the paper's legal costs. Christine Hamilton had contracted food poisoning during the flight from Taiwan. I'm a nurse. [101] He claimed that Hamilton had demanded and had accepted cash payments of up to 110,000,[102] Harrods' gift vouchers and a free holiday at the Htel Ritz Paris in 1987, in return for asking questions in Parliament on behalf of Harrods. His majority at the 1992 general election had been almost 16,000 votes. The party's leader Nigel Farage pledged to support him in the election for the National Executive Committee. Appearing together on GB News, the two were asked about their time in Cardiff Bay during Neil Hamilton's time as a UKIP member between 2016 and 2021. Christine wrote a book of Battleaxes, Neil wrote a book of political eccentrics. Neil Hamilton was an associate of al-Fayed's, who was clearly trying to build up a client-list of Tory MPs.Moreover, it is easy to imagine how Neil Hamilton would have justified the brown envelopes to himself. That is why al-Fayed decided to destroy him.There is a lot of competition, but throughout a chequered career, Neil Hamilton has always managed to be his own worst enemy. In the process, the Bill of Rights 1689 was amended by the Defamation Act 1996 to allow statements made in Parliament to be questioned in court. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton from 1983 to 1997 and a UKIP Member of the Senedd (MS) for Mid and West Wales from 2016 to 2021. What's on TV & Streaming Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Browse TV Shows by Genre TV News India TV Spotlight. He is a silly fellow, who brought discredit on a decent Prime Minister, John Major, who tried to protect him long after more ruthless premiers would have swept him aside.But none of these antics deserves a life-long persecution. [12][13][14], After Hamilton's electoral defeat, Christine and her husband appeared together on the satirical BBC quiz show Have I Got News for You, on 9 May 1997, an appearance that established her as a chat-show personality and she subsequently appeared on programmes including her own Christine Hamilton Show on BBC Choice where she interviewed celebrities who suffered some form of adversity, including Jonathan Aitken, James Hewitt, Bernard Manning, Ivana Trump, Paul Merson and John Fashanu. When it comes to blagging air tickets or free dinners, they have plenty of form, but rapists?If the allegations that they were involved in the sexual assault of a 28-year-old woman while another man raped her at his flat in Ilford had been levelled at anyone except the Hamiltons, one suspects that the natural scepticism of the police would have come into play.But the circus that developed is typical of the couple. [27], Denmark rejected the Maastricht Treaty on 2 June 1992. "Latin may have been virtually banished from the courtrooms, but the police still use the term MO when referring to a rogue's known habits, though few constables now realise that it is short for modus operandi. In the Hamilton/Fayed/brown envelopes case, the MO would appear to be characteristic of both parties. [58] He was also top of the UKIP list for that region but was not appointed as an additional member either. "My staff are appalled and disgusted. Neil Hamilton eventually reached the post of Minister for Corporate Affairs between 1992 and 1994 in Prime Minister John Major's government. He was discharged from bankruptcy in May 2004. I await a transcript of the second tape."[87]. In December 1986, Hamilton was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to David Mitchell. On entering the Commons, Hamilton was appointed as an officer of the backbench committee on Trade and Industry under the chairmanship of Michael Grylls. He would be straight round to examine Christine Hamilton. A Nazi salute is a criminal offence in the Federal Republic of Germany. The eventual winner would become the UKIP Assembly Group Leader and ultimately the party's main spokesperson for Wales. [99] Hamilton had asked for payment in kind so the money would not be taxable. David Davis, then a director of Tate and Lyle, persuaded that company to donate a sum to the cause. The 1997 General Election edited by D. T. Denver, p. 83. "I am aware that one potential witness sought advice from Central Office but was told that no advice could be given" Tebbit accused Campbell-Savours of making his accusations behind the cloak of parliamentary privilege and left the chamber to make his reply. All the "cash-for-questions" evidence was sent to Sir Gordon Downey, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. [84] The Independent revealed the existence of a taped conversation of a Tory witness being "shaken rigid" by Central Office's suggestion that the Berlin events had not happened and "no other witness would substantiate or give evidence about those alleged incidents" and the witness was told no other witness would back his account. (Not that self-justification would ever have been much of a problem for him where cash was involved.) In August 2001, a mother-of-four from Grimsby, Nadine Milroy-Sloan, accused Neil and Christine Hamilton of sexual assault. [59] Meanwhile the party lost all its other Senedd seats. Hamilton received over 25,000 and had deliberately misled Michael Heseltine, then President of the Board of Trade, in October 1994, when he said he had no financial relationship with Ian Greer. At the time, Hamilton was a member of a Commons select committee on finance. Neil Hamilton was forced to resign as a Tory trade and industry minister after claims that he took money from Mohamed al-Fayed, the owner of Harrods, in return for asking questions in Parliament.He took his feud with al-Fayed to the High Court and lost a libel action in 1999. He invited Tebbit to make a statement in the House. She's gonna be okay! Neil and Christine may feel that by "mining the rich seam of popular culture', as Neil calls it, they are winning. Robert Shrimsley, "Guardian Case MP seeks law change". [citation needed], In November 1989, Hamilton won the Spectator parliamentary wit of the year award. [clarification needed] He was the only member in committee to oppose the Conservative government's bill to outlaw trafficking in human organs. October 1994: Hamilton quits as Corporate Affairs Minister after The Guardian publishes allegations that he took money from Mohammed Al Fayed to ask questions in the Commons. On 8 April 1997, Hamilton was chosen as the Conservative candidate for Tatton (182 for, 35 against, 100 abstained). Deayton is later sacked. Mr Pedley indicated that he intends to continue the case. [18], In the theatre, Hamilton has appeared in pantomime in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford in 2002,[19] as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella at the Kettering Lighthouse Theatre in 2011[20] and has taken the role of the narrator for The Rocky Horror Show musical. Neil is the fella who fires an inverted bullet . ", "Court Threat to Proctor Over Shop Accounts", Value Added Tax information for VIXEN CONSULTANTS LIMITED trading as CHRISTINE HAMILTON, Christopher Monckton, 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, OctoberNovember 2016 leadership (Nuttall), Leaders of political parties in the United Kingdom, List of political parties in the United Kingdom, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Neil_Hamilton_(politician)&oldid=1140747454, Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies, UK Independence Party members of the Senedd, Short description is different from Wikidata, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2019, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from November 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 15:45. September 1997: Mr Fayed alleges Hamilton accepted pounds 30,000 in brown envelopes. Hamilton and Howarth were awarded 20,000 each and in the next edition of Panorama, on 27 October, the BBC made an unreserved apology. [29] Despite this, Hamilton remained, for a time, loyal to the Major government which endorsed the treaty. [7] Hamilton worked as her husband's secretary following their 1983 marriage. But even before he reached the hotel, she had made a remarkable recovery. And who, instead of being feted for her spirited action, was branded the wife from hell; the bossy termagant. [78] Dale Campbell-Savours claimed he had evidence in the form of a letter from Pedley to the former Party Chairman, John Selwyn Gummer, demonstrating Conservative Central Office (CCO) had contacted witnesses. 20 years of Sacha Baron Cohen: all of his best political interviews . By BRUCE ANDERSON and AGENCIES Neil and Christine Hamilton were once invited to Taiwan by British Airways, back in the days when Lord King was chairman. The Guardian greeted the Hamilton collapse with the headline "A Liar and a Cheat". Needlebow 3 yr. ago. Those qualities, after all, along with a few other nastier ones, were what shot him into the public eye in the first place, when he was accused by Mohammed Al Fayed of accepting "cash for questions" - of taking payment to make planted inquiries in the House of Commons in return for plain brown envelopes stuffed with cash. The UKIP leader, Nigel Farage, criticised the move as an "unjust act of deep ingratitude". 2 February 2005: Max Clifford settles a libel action brought by the Hamiltons over comments he made during the fake sex allegations case brought by Milroy Sloan. Mon 9 May 2016 09.04 EDT Last modified on Fri 7 Oct 2016 05.14 EDT. I am receiving a much smaller subsidy from my friend al-Fayed, who acknowledges my genius and who is also hugely rich. Hamilton also brought a legal action for libel against Mohamed Al-Fayed. What happened to Enoch Powell? [66], During the case, Hamilton said he saw himself as being "the Mike Yarwood of the Federation of Conservative Students"[67] and that he frequently did impressions of public figures such as Frankie Howerd, Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, Charles De Gaulle and Enoch Powell. When Martin Bell, the BBC war correspondent, announced he would stand as an independent candidate in Tatton, the Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates for the area stood down in order to give Bell a clear run against Hamilton. [68] He said he would have twenty character witnesses: "My main character witness was going to be Norman St John Stevas. Hamilton was told by the Chief Whip to stay neutral, but says he ignored this instruction. Neil and Christine Hamilton have said that the Senedd would "make a glass eye go to sleep" but that they "livened things up" and "introduced some common sense" to the parliament. Tuesday December 3, 2019: On General Hospital today, Willow takes a pregnancy test, Sonny tries to find out what Jax is hiding, and Kendra dies after the accident. November 1999: Neil Hamilton, with his wife Christine, sues Mr Fayed in a memorable libel action and tries to clear his name of sleaze allegations. Legal career [ edit] From September 1979, Hamilton practised as a barrister. This was a humorous reference to Martin Bell, who wore just such a suit throughout the 1997 general election campaign. In his spare time he studied for his bar practice exam. she boomed in a confrontation later dubbed the Battle of Knutsford Heath. With Louis Theroux, Neil Hamilton, Christine Hamilton, Gyles Brandreth. Christine! [124], Hamilton argued for the individual's right to smoke. She then studied sociology at the University of York and first met Neil Hamilton when they both attended a student political conference. On 10 August 2001, Hamilton and his wife, Christine, were arrested by police who were investigating an alleged rape. Hamilton came third in the first series of the reality television programme, I'm a CelebrityGet Me Out of Here! I mean now an MP doesn't take a lump of sugar without declaring it, but in the Eighties, the climate was completely different, it was not regarded as wrong to accept hospitality. They then asked if British Airways would pay their Hong Kong hotel bill; British Airways declined. In November 1990, Michael Heseltine initiated a leadership challenge to Margaret Thatcher. [24] Hamilton legally changed her name by deed poll to 'Mrs British Battleaxe' in February 2009 as a promotion for an online deed service company. Out on the road, before Kendra can run over Alexis, Lucas crashes into her car. People such as the Hamiltons are evidence of our impatience with that ritual, and our frustration over its hit-and-miss qualities. On 21 December 1999, the jury unanimously decided in favour of Al-Fayed, declaring Hamilton corrupt. [64] The Guardian newspaper highlighted Hamilton's admission in The Sunday Times in an article he wrote after the court case that he did give "a little salute with two fingers to his nose to give the impression of a toothbrush moustache. "The second is Neil Hamilton's imprudence. The unconventional defence is hardly surprising for a couple who, ever since the former cabinet minister resigned from government in 1994, have been involved in a fight for political survival, endless legal battles and all manner of media roles. A BBC internal memorandum to the Board of Management claimed some 17 witnesses had been intimidated into changing their testimony. In return, the men were to ask questions on behalf of Al-Fayed in the House of Commons. The two are very pleased with their grand new residence and call it their "Up Yours' house. -. She then studied sociology at the University of York and first met Neil Hamilton when they both attended a student political conference. [112] In February 2005, the publicist Max Clifford, who had acted for Milroy-Sloan, settled, paying Hamilton an undisclosed sum. [30] Their accuser, Nadine Milroy-Sloan, was charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice, and in 2002 sentenced to 3 years imprisonment for making the false accusations.[31][32][33][34]. The Hamiltons (TV Movie 2001) Christine Hamilton as Self. [28], Along with her husband, she was arrested in May 2001 by police investigating an alleged rape that was found to be false. Hamilton was born in Fleur-de-Lis, a Gwent pit village near Blackwood, Wales. He specialised in taxation, trust and property law. He subsequently lost a libel case on the matter. They are filled with contempt for a man who can make these sort of accusations of a criminal offence against a member of staff, who, Mr Campbell-Savours knows damn well, is not guilty of it."[80]. "[69] In a Sunday Times article, Hamilton denied there was any malicious intent behind the salute. Movies. Nadine Milroy-Sloan, 28, of Grimsby, alleged last May that the Hamiltons had forced her to take part in sex games at a flat in Ilford, east London, owned by Barry Lehaney, 61, a retired financial.