Almost eight years after walking out of prison Jonathan Aitken has been appointed to lead a review of prison policy for a conservative think tank
Almost eight years after walking out of prison with his belongings in a black bin liner, former Conservative Cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken has been appointed to lead a review of prison policy for a conservative think tank.
Jailed in June 1999, he served almost seven months of his 18-month sentence for perjury and perverting the course of justice.
It was a swift fall for a man educated at Eton and Oxford and once tipped to be the future leader of the Conservative Party.
A former chief secretary to the Treasury in John Major's Conservative government, Aitken fell from grace when it emerged he lied about a stay at the Ritz Hotel in Paris during libel proceedings against The Guardian newspaper and the World in Action television series.
The trial judge told Aitken, 65, he had spun a "web of deceit" from which he had not been prepared to escape by telling the truth.
Backbench career
Through his great uncle, the newspaper tycoon Lord Beaverbrook, he had started out as a journalist on the family-owned Evening Standard, and campaigned for the freedom of the press.
His parliamentary career began in 1974 when he was elected as the Conservative MP for Thanet East (later Thanet South).
But he earned the animosity of Margaret Thatcher when he ended a relationship with her daughter Carol.
Eighteen years later and with John Major in charge, Aitken was appointed as Minister of State for defence procurement in 1992 - a position he held until 1994.
He then succeeded Michael Portillo as chief secretary to the Treasury and finally attained the Cabinet seat he had long worked towards.
But the path to his downfall began shortly afterwards in April 1995 when he decided to sue for libel over the Guardian's allegations.
'Sword of truth'
Portraying himself as a crusader for truth, Aitken resigned from his Cabinet post to concentrate his energies on the case.
Standing in Conservative Central Office, the former journalist famously vowed to clear his name and declared he would cut out the cancer of bent and twisted journalism with "the sword of truth and the trusty shield of British fair play".
Instead, his life was destroyed as he became bankrupt, divorced and imprisoned.
Of his experiences in prison, Aitken said he turned to God and on his release he studied theology.
Also inside he quickly became "the geezer with wonderful joined up writing", who wrote letters for his fellow convicts, impressing "the girls in Brixton" with his turn of phrase.
In 2004 his attempt to become an MP again was thwarted by then leader Michael Howard - although Aitken said it was blocked by "shabby tricks" from the Conservative Party officials.
Aitken had been keen to rejoin Westminster and said 200 members of the South Thanet Conservative Association had signed a petition to chose him as their candidate.
Parliament 'days are over'
Other than the legal barrier in his quest - the law bars anybody jailed for more than a year from being an MP - Aitken was also rejected by the party leadership.
At the time, Mr Howard said: "Jonathan Aitken has very many admirable qualities but I am afraid his days as a Conservative Member of Parliament are over."
Back then Aitken confirmed he would not seek to return to Parliament - but seems to have been invited back into the fold - albeit peripheral - by former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and his independent think tank, the Centre for Social Justice.
He will chair a panel of criminal justice experts to formulate policy which could be used by the Conservative Party.
Barrie runs the parking ticket appeal website AppealNow.com
Remember you can fight back against illegally issued parking tickets.
If you want to appeal such a parking ticket but don't know how - then visit
http://www.appealnow.com
where you can appeal online in 4½ minutes.
© 2006 & 2007 Barrie Segal - All Rights reserved
Barrie Segal is the founder of AppealNow.com™ and is a regular radio broadcaster in the UK.
Barrie is the author of The Parking Ticket Awards: Crazy Councils, Meter Madness and Traffic Warden Hell
publishing date 1st August 2007 - click on the title to order
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Jailed in June 1999, he served almost seven months of his 18-month sentence for perjury and perverting the course of justice.
It was a swift fall for a man educated at Eton and Oxford and once tipped to be the future leader of the Conservative Party.
A former chief secretary to the Treasury in John Major's Conservative government, Aitken fell from grace when it emerged he lied about a stay at the Ritz Hotel in Paris during libel proceedings against The Guardian newspaper and the World in Action television series.
The trial judge told Aitken, 65, he had spun a "web of deceit" from which he had not been prepared to escape by telling the truth.
Backbench career
Through his great uncle, the newspaper tycoon Lord Beaverbrook, he had started out as a journalist on the family-owned Evening Standard, and campaigned for the freedom of the press.
His parliamentary career began in 1974 when he was elected as the Conservative MP for Thanet East (later Thanet South).
But he earned the animosity of Margaret Thatcher when he ended a relationship with her daughter Carol.
Eighteen years later and with John Major in charge, Aitken was appointed as Minister of State for defence procurement in 1992 - a position he held until 1994.
He then succeeded Michael Portillo as chief secretary to the Treasury and finally attained the Cabinet seat he had long worked towards.
But the path to his downfall began shortly afterwards in April 1995 when he decided to sue for libel over the Guardian's allegations.
'Sword of truth'
Portraying himself as a crusader for truth, Aitken resigned from his Cabinet post to concentrate his energies on the case.
Standing in Conservative Central Office, the former journalist famously vowed to clear his name and declared he would cut out the cancer of bent and twisted journalism with "the sword of truth and the trusty shield of British fair play".
Instead, his life was destroyed as he became bankrupt, divorced and imprisoned.
Of his experiences in prison, Aitken said he turned to God and on his release he studied theology.
Also inside he quickly became "the geezer with wonderful joined up writing", who wrote letters for his fellow convicts, impressing "the girls in Brixton" with his turn of phrase.
In 2004 his attempt to become an MP again was thwarted by then leader Michael Howard - although Aitken said it was blocked by "shabby tricks" from the Conservative Party officials.
Aitken had been keen to rejoin Westminster and said 200 members of the South Thanet Conservative Association had signed a petition to chose him as their candidate.
Parliament 'days are over'
Other than the legal barrier in his quest - the law bars anybody jailed for more than a year from being an MP - Aitken was also rejected by the party leadership.
At the time, Mr Howard said: "Jonathan Aitken has very many admirable qualities but I am afraid his days as a Conservative Member of Parliament are over."
Back then Aitken confirmed he would not seek to return to Parliament - but seems to have been invited back into the fold - albeit peripheral - by former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and his independent think tank, the Centre for Social Justice.
He will chair a panel of criminal justice experts to formulate policy which could be used by the Conservative Party.
Barrie runs the parking ticket appeal website AppealNow.com
Remember you can fight back against illegally issued parking tickets.
If you want to appeal such a parking ticket but don't know how - then visit
http://www.appealnow.com
where you can appeal online in 4½ minutes.
© 2006 & 2007 Barrie Segal - All Rights reserved
Barrie Segal is the founder of AppealNow.com™ and is a regular radio broadcaster in the UK.
Barrie is the author of The Parking Ticket Awards: Crazy Councils, Meter Madness and Traffic Warden Hell
publishing date 1st August 2007 - click on the title to order
posted by AppealNow.com™ at 12:08 AM
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