Damian Green

Damian Green MP
Member of Parliament for Ashford
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 May 1997
Preceded by	Keith Speed
Majority	13,298 (25.7%)
Personal details
Born	(1956-01-17) 17 January 1956 Barry, Wales
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Alicia Collinson
Alma mater	Balliol College, Oxford

Damian Howard Green (born 17 January 1956) is a British politician who has been the Conservative Member of Parliament for Ashford since 1997. Before standing for parliament, Damian Green was Channel 4's business editor.

Early life

Damian Green was born in Barry, Wales and was educated at Reading School in Berkshire and at Balliol College, Oxford where he was awarded a BA degree in PPE in 1977 followed by a master's degree. He was President of the Oxford Union in 1977 and was the vice chairman of the Federation of Conservative Students (now known as Conservative Future) for two years from 1980.

Career

In 1978 he was appointed by BBC Radio as a financial journalist, before joining Channel 4 News as a business producer in 1982. He joined The Times for a year in 1984 as the business news editor, before returning to television journalism and Channel 4 as the business editor in 1985. He became the City editor and also a television presenter on Channel 4's Business Daily television programme in 1987 until he left television to join Prime Minister John Major's Policy Unit in 1992. Green had acted as an occasional speech writer for Major since 1988. He left 10 Downing Street in 1994 to run his own public affairs consultancy.

Political career

He stood against Labour's Ken Livingstone in Brent East at the 1992 General Election, but lost by 5,971 votes. He was elected to the House of Commons for the Kent seat of Ashford at the 1997 General Election following the retirement of the Tory MP Keith Speed. Green held the seat with a majority of 5,345 and has remained the constituency's MP. He made his maiden speech on 20 May 1997, making a small faux pas in having already asked a question of Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown earlier the same day.

In Parliament he was a member of the Culture, Media and Sport select committee from 1997 until his appointment to the frontbench by William Hague in 1998 as a spokesman on education and employment. He spoke on the environment from 1999, and was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet by Iain Duncan Smith in 2001 as the Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills. In 2003, Michael Howard gave him the position of Shadow Secretary of State for Transport. In September 2004, he left the front bench altogether of his own accord and joined the home affairs select committee, and has been a member of the treasury committee since the 2005 General Election. He returned to the frontbench under the leadership of David Cameron in 2005 as a spokesman on home affairs and shadow minister for immigration.

Green is Chairman of Parliamentary Mainstream, a Vice-President of the Tory Reform Group and is a Vice-Chairman of the John Smith Memorial Trust.

2008 arrest

Green was arrested by the Metropolitan Police at his constituency home on 27 November 2008 for "aiding and abetting misconduct in public office" and ""conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office" , in relation to an investigation into unauthorised disclosure of confidential material from within the Home Office. The material disclosed was claimed by the Daily Mail to have 'severely embarrassed' the Government by highlighting failures over immigration and other matters. The police investigation was initiated by the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office, David Normington. It was reported that the arrest took place without the knowledge of the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith. Green was held for nine hours on suspicion of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office. Green's constituency and House of Commons offices were searched in addition to his London and Ashford homes, with police removing official documents and bank statements, computer hard drive and mobile telephone, and searching personal items such as love letters written to his wife some twenty years earlier. Green was later released without charge.

The arrest of a senior opposition politician (and former journalist) on matters connected with the release by that politician of confidential information to the press generated much comment, largely from politicians and journalists. The Conservative Party leader David Cameron was said to be 'angry' over the action of the police. The Conservative Party issued a statement defending Green's right to publish information in the public interest. The constitutional expert Professor Vernon Bogdanor of Oxford University told the BBC that the row was a "storm in a teacup", adding that "The important principle is that MPs - apart from when they're speaking in the chamber and dealing with constituents' correspondence - are as subject to the same laws as the rest of us".

The information disclosed by Green is suspected to have been obtained from a 26-year-old junior Home Office civil servant, Chris Galley. In the 2004 local elections, Galley stood as a Conservative Party candidate for Sunderland City Council and received 676 votes. In mid-2007, Galley applied to work for Green but was rejected.

The events led to speculation about the apparent coincidence that such a high profile arrest should be authorised on the last day in office of former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair, since Green's fellow Conservative (and fellow graduate of Balliol College) Boris Johnson prompted Blair's resignation. To counter this speculation, it was reported that there is no legal requirement for any arrest to be authorised by the Commissioner, and that the decision would usually be made by the officer leading the investigation. The operation and arrest of Green was spearheaded by the Met Police's Counter-Terrorism Branch headed by Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, the most senior anti-terrorism officer.

The arrest was criticised by all sides of the House of Commons ranging from political figures including Conservative Leader David Cameron, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and even veteran left-wing Labour politician Tony Benn. The Prime Minister Gordon Brown made no comment over the arrest other than to say it was a police matter. The Director of the UK human rights organisation Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti, wrote in The Sunday Times an article highly critical of the arrest and search of Green's offices. The Leader of the House of Commons, Harriet Harman, has also voiced concern, and Justice Secretary Jack Straw has also said to be 'surprised' by the arrest and he knew nothing of it.

Green is reported to have said he was the subject of a bugging operation which would have required the authorisation of Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith. Smith stated she had not signed any warrant to approve the bugging of Green. Green subsequently has requested for a sweep of his home and parliamentary offices for bugs.

Personal life

He married Alicia Collinson in April 1988 in the City of London and they have two daughters. In 2002, he spent the day as a teacher at a school in the London Borough of Wandsworth.

Publications

• ITN Budget Factbook, by Damian Green, 1984, ITN
• ITN Budget Factbook, by Damian Green, 1985, ITN
• ITN Budget Factbook, by Damian Green, 1986, ITN
• Better BBC: Public Service Broadcasting in the '90s, by Damian Green, 1990, Centre for Policy Studies ISBN 1-870265-77-7
• Freedom of the Airwaves by Damian Green, 1990, CPC ISBN 0-85070-806-0
• Communities in the Countryside, by Damian Green, 1995. ISBN 1-874097-11-9
• The Cross Media Revolution: Ownership and Control, Edited by Damian Green, 1995, University of Luton Press ISBN 0-86196-545-0
• Regulating the Media in the Digital Age, by Damian Green, 1997, European Media Forum
• 21st Century Conservatism, by Damian Green, 1998
• The Four Failures of the New Deal, by Damian Green, 1998, Centre for Policy Studies ISBN 1-897969-84-8

External links

• Damian Green MP official site
• ePolitix.com – Damian Green
• Ashford Conservatives
• Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Damian Green MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com – Damian Green MP
• Open Rights Group – Damian Green MP
• The Public Whip – Damian Green MP voting record
• BBC News – Damian Green profile 30 March 2006
• Open Directory Project - Damian Green directory category
• Tory risk taker who wants to be the teacher's friend – Jackie Ashley meets Damian Green, 4 February 2002

News items

• Possibly wanting to be party leader in June 2005
• Proposing 80mph motorway speed limit in February 2004
• Encouraging vocational skills at school in October 2003
• Reducing targets used in education in April 2003
• Interviewed on the Politics Show in February 2003
• Discussing supply teacher Amy Gehring in February 2002
• Visiting the German education system in January 2002
• Wanting more faith schools in October 2001
• Reviewing the week's news in March 2000
• Challenging anti-grammar school campaigners in January 1999
• Criticising law to allow ballot on grammar schools in November 1998

References

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