Leon Brittan

Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne
Born	Leon Brittan (1939-09-25) 25 September 1939 London, England
Died	21 January 2015(2015-01-21) (aged 75) Pimlico, London, England
Occupation(s)	Politician, barrister
Years active	1974–1999
Known for	Home Secretary (1983–1985), European Commissioner (1989–1999)

Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne, (25 September 1939 – 21 January 2015), was a British Conservative politician and barrister who held the position of European Commissioner between 1989 and 1999. Serving as a MP from 1974 until 1988, he occupied various ministerial posts within Margaret Thatcher's administration, notably as Home Secretary from 1983 to 1985.

Early life

Born in London to Rebecca (née Lipetz) and Joseph Brittan, a medical doctor, Leon Brittan's family were Lithuanian Jewish immigrants who settled in Britain prior to the Second World War. He attended the Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School before progressing to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he held leadership roles including President of the Cambridge Union Society and Chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association. Furthering his studies, Brittan was awarded a Henry Fellowship to study at Yale University. His brother was the economics journalist Sir Samuel Brittan. Notably, former Conservative MP Malcolm Rifkind and music producer Mark Ronson were among his cousins.

MP and minister

After unsuccessful attempts to secure the Kensington North seat in both 1966 and 1970, Brittan was elected as MP for Cleveland and Whitby in February 1974. He became an opposition spokesman two years later in 1976. In 1978, he was appointed a Queen's Counsel. Between 1979 and 1981, he served as Minister of State at the Home Office, followed by promotion to Chief Secretary to the Treasury, where he became the youngest member of the Cabinet. During this period, he cautioned colleagues that reductions in social security, healthcare, and education budgets were unavoidable.

In the 1983 general election, Brittan secured the parliamentary seat for Richmond and was appointed as Home Secretary, becoming the youngest person to hold the post since Winston Churchill. Throughout the 1984–85 miners' strike, he openly condemned the leadership of the National Union of Mineworkers for orchestrating violent flying pickets. To manage law enforcement during this industrial action, he established a National Reporting Centre at New Scotland Yard to oversee coordination among police forces. The Thatcher government had prepared extensively for this confrontation through covert Whitehall committees.

Following the fatal shooting of police officer Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy in London in 1984, Brittan chaired the government's crisis committee in Prime Minister Thatcher’s absence. Subsequent confidential documents revealed that Libyan authorities had issued warnings to British officials about possible violence hours before Fletcher’s death.

In September 1986, the High Court exonerated Brittan from allegations that he had unlawfully authorized MI5 to conduct phone surveillance on a Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament leader during his tenure as Home Secretary.

In September 1985, Brittan was reassigned as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. According to Jonathan Aitken, this move was considered a demotion by Thatcher due to her perception that Brittan’s television appearances lacked effective communication. Thatcher herself described his on-screen demeanor as "aloof and uncomfortable."

Brittan attracted criticism for blocking a BBC documentary on Northern Ireland titled At the Edge of the Union, part of the Real Lives series. He contended that airing the program would be contrary to national interests and requested its cancellation. The BBC Board of Governors ultimately prevented its broadcast, which led to internal disputes and a strike by hundreds of BBC employees protesting what they viewed as government censorship.

Resignation amid the Westland controversy

In January 1986, Brittan stepped down from his role as Trade and Industry Secretary due to the Westland affair. He had authorised the leak of a letter from the Solicitor General for England and Wales, which accused Michael Heseltine of inaccuracies in his efforts to promote a European consortium's rescue plan for Westland. The Thatcher-led government endorsed a deal with the American company Sikorsky Fiat instead.

Jonathan Aitken characterized Brittan's resignation as a blend of scapegoating and a witch hunt, influenced by anti-Semitic undertones, suggesting that Brittan was made a convenient target to shield the Prime Minister from criticism. It later emerged that Brittan attempted to convince British Aerospace and General Electric Company (GEC) to withdraw their support from the European consortium.

In October 1986, Brittan publicly criticized Heseltine in the House of Commons, accusing him of disrupting government cohesion regarding Westland. By 1989, Brittan revealed that senior officials at Downing Street had authorised the leak of the Solicitor General’s letter, which led to renewed demands for an official inquiry.

European Commission

Brittan was honoured with a knighthood in the 1989 New Year Honours and was appointed as European Commissioner for Competition early that year, prompting his resignation as an MP. Although he accepted the role with some reluctance, he relinquished further ambitions within British Parliament. Margaret Thatcher appointed him as Lord Cockfield’s successor, anticipating ideological alignment; however, Brittan’s pro-European views soon diverged from her expectations.

In 1989, he successfully enacted merger regulations that allowed him to block the ATR/De Havilland merger in 1991. He transitioned to become European Commissioner for Trade in 1993 and then European Commissioner for External Relations in 1995, simultaneously serving as a Vice-President of the European Commission. He resigned alongside the Santer Commission in 1999 following fraud allegations against Jacques Santer and Édith Cresson.

During his tenure as vice-president, future UK Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg was part of his office staff.

Peerage

On 9 February 2000, Brittan was elevated to the peerage as a life peer with the title Baron Brittan of Spennithorne, of Spennithorne in County of North Yorkshire. He held positions such as vice-chairman at UBS AG Investment Bank and non-executive director at Unilever, as well as serving on Total’s international advisory committee. In August 2010, he was appointed as trade adviser to the UK government—a six-month role which Prime Minister David Cameron praised as well-suited to Brittan’s "unrivalled experience."

His wife Diana (born 1940), Lady Brittan of Spennithorne, was honoured with a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2004 Birthday Honours for her public service and charitable work.

Death

Brittan passed away at his residence in Pimlico, London, on 21 January 2015 at age 75 after a lengthy struggle with cancer. He is survived by two stepdaughters.

Paedophile dossier

While serving as Home Secretary in 1984, Brittan received a detailed 40-page dossier from MP Geoffrey Dickens, outlining alleged paedophile activities involving influential figures. The current location of this dossier remains unknown. In correspondence with Channel 4 News in 2013, Brittan denied awareness of the document and later told The Independent he could not recall it when questioned.

In 2014, Brittan stated that Dickens had met him at the Home Office and that he had sent Dickens a letter on 20 March 1984 describing actions taken. Journalist James Gillespie referenced a letter from Dickens thanking Brittan for his support and noted allegations including concerns about child pornography imports and connections involving Buckingham Palace staff.

A Home Office review in 2013 led by civil servant Mark Sedwill found no evidence that copies of Dickens’s dossier were retained but concluded that Brittan acted appropriately. A further review by Peter Wanless in November 2014 found no proof that files were removed to conceal abuse.

Claims Investigated by Labour Parliamentarian

In June 2014, police questioned Leon Brittan under caution regarding an alleged 1967 sexual assault involving a 19-year-old student at his London residence prior to his parliamentary career. This inquiry was reopened following lobbying efforts by Labour MP Tom Watson directed at Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders. Brittan firmly rejected these allegations. At the time of his passing, he had not been notified that there was a lack of sufficient evidence to proceed with prosecution. Subsequently, the Metropolitan Police issued an apology to Brittan's widow concerning this matter.

In October 2014, Labour MP Jimmy Hood invoked parliamentary privilege to associate Brittan with accusations of child abuse. Following Brittan's death in January 2015, Watson publicly accused him of "multiple child rape," referencing claims from two alleged victims. Chris Fay, a convicted fraudster, asserted he had seen a photograph depicting Brittan with a child at Elm Guest House in 1982. As part of the investigation, Operation Midland officers conducted searches at two former residences of Brittan in March 2015.

One individual who made accusations later confessed to BBC Panorama that naming Brittan originated as a joke and may have been influenced by activist groups. Operation Midland was closed in March 2016 without any charges filed. In September 2017, the Metropolitan Police compensated Brittan’s widow significantly for unwarranted home searches carried out during the probe. Carl Beech, whose fabricated allegations triggered Operation Midland, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice in July 2019.

Honours

Leon Brittan was granted a life peerage by the Queen on 9 February 2000, adopting the title Baron Brittan of Spennithorne, of Spennithorne in the County of North Yorkshire. He took his seat on the Conservative benches within the House of Lords.

Commonwealth Honours

Nation	Period	Title	Post-nominal Letters
United Kingdom	1978–21 January 2015	Queen's Counsel	QC
United Kingdom	1981–21 January 2015	Member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council	PC
United Kingdom	31 December 1988–21 January 2015	Knight Bachelor	Kt
United Kingdom	1 August 2001–25 September 2014	Deputy Lieutenant of North Yorkshire	DL

International Honours

Nation	Date	Decoration	Post-nominal Letters
Estonia		Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (2nd Class)

Academic Distinctions

Chancellor, Visitor, Governor, Rector and Fellowships

Country	Tenure	Institution	Role
Template:Country data England	1993–2005	Teesside University	Chancellor

Honorary Degrees Awarded

Country	Year	Institution	Degree Title	Delivered Commencement Speech
Template:Country data England	1990	Newcastle University	Doctor of Civil Law (DCL)
Template:Country data England	1990	University of Hull	Doctor of Laws (LL.D)
Template:Country data Scotland	1991	University of Edinburgh	Doctorate
Template:Country data England	1992	University of Bradford	Doctor of Laws (LL.D)
Template:Country data England	1992	University of Durham	Doctor of Civil Law (DCL)
Template:Country data England	1995	University of Bath	Doctor of Laws (LL.D)
Template:Country data England		Teesside University	Doctor of Laws (LL.D)

Memberships and Fellowships

Nation	Year	Institution	Role
United Kingdom	1960	Cambridge Union	President
United Kingdom	1983Template:Spaced ndash21 January 2015	Inner Temple	Bencher

External links

• Official record of his introduction to the House of Lords (House of Lords minutes, 29 February 2000)