Charles Clarke
Overview
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, who was the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Norwich South from 1997
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
until 2010, and served as Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
from December 2004 until May 2006.
The son of Civil Service Permanent Secretary
Permanent Secretary
The Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...
Sir Richard Clarke
Richard W. B. Clarke
Sir Richard William Barnes Clarke, KCB, OBE was a British civil servant. He was educated at Christ's Hospital, London and Clare College, Cambridge; he was sixth wrangler in 1931...
, Charles Clarke was born in London. He attended the fee-paying Highgate School
Highgate School
-Notable members of staff and governing body:* John Ireton, brother of Henry Ireton, Cromwellian General* 1st Earl of Mansfield, Lord Chief Justice, owner of Kenwood, noted for judgment finding contracts for slavery unenforceable in English law* T. S...
where he was Head Boy
Head boy
Head Boy and Head Girl are terms commonly used in the British education system, and in private schools throughout the Commonwealth.-United Kingdom:...
. He then read Mathematics and Economics at King's College
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, where he also served as the President of the Cambridge Students' Union
Cambridge University Students' Union
Cambridge University Students' Union is the university-wide representative body for students at the University of Cambridge, England...
.
Quotations
I don’t mind there being some medievalists around for ornamental purposes, but there is no reason for the State to pay for them.
Speech at University College, Worcester, April 2003 (Reported in the Times Educational Supplement, May 2003)
I am not in any way opposed to medieval studies (or for that matter Latin).
Education Secretary Clarke, Letter to the Guardian, May 2003
The fact is, we're looking for a very small number of very evil needles in a very large haystack, which is the city of London.
Home Secretary Charles Clarke, BBC radio, July 2005 following the London bombings