Paul White, Baron Hanningfield
Encyclopedia
Paul Edward Winston White, Baron Hanningfield DL
(born 16 September 1940) is a member of the House of Lords
and was a British
Conservative Party
politician until early 2010, when the whip was withdrawn from him as a result of investigations into his criminal behaviour in relation to his Parliamentary expenses claims. Lord Hanningfield sat on the Conservative side on Essex County Council until after the meeting of that body on 12 May 2011.
in Chelmsford
and has received a Nuffield Scholarship for Agriculture.
In 1962 he was appointed Chairman of the Young Farmers, and at the same time became a member of the Executive of Chelmsford Conservative Party, a position he held until 1999. He was first elected to Essex County Council in 1970 and served as Chairman of the council from 1989 to 1992. Hanningfield was also chair of the Council of Local Education Authorities
between 1990 and 1992, leader of Association of County Councils
between 1995 and 1997. From 1997 to 2001, he was deputy chair and Conservative Group Leader of the Local Government Association
. He served as leader of Essex County Council from 2001 until his resignation in 2010.
On 31 July 1998, he was made a life peer
as Baron Hanningfield, of Chelmsford in the County of Essex
. In the House of Lords he served as an opposition whip and a Shadow Minister for education and transport.
Hanningfield is also a member of the Court of Essex University and a Deputy Lieutenant
of the County of Essex. Lord Hanningfield is also Vice Patron of the Helen Rollason Trust.
awarded him with the Rural Vision 2009 Award for his work to protect and promote rural communities. The Alliance felt his involvement and leadership on issues such as fighting against the second runway at Stansted and post office closures showed he was a politician with the countryside's future most at heart.
Spokesperson for Communities, Local Government and for Transport. Also later on that day, he resigned as leader of Essex County Council and David Cameron withdrew the party whip.
On 27 May 2010 Lord Hanningfield, Jim Devine
, Elliot Morley
and David Chaytor
appeared at Southwark Crown Court
for a preliminary hearing. Hanningfield's trial at Chelmsford Crown Court began on 16 May 2011. He was charged with six counts of false accounting. Prosecutor Clare Montgomery QC accused the peer of claiming for overnight stays in London when he had returned to his Essex home. On one occasion, when he claimed for reimbursement for an overnight stay in London, he was actually on a plane to India.
Lord Hanningfield denied six charges of false accounting. The peer told police he had been 'singled out' and that in an interview in August 2009, he had told police: "I have done the same as 500 or 600 other peers." On 26 May 2011, Lord Hanningfield was found guilty on all six counts.
On 1st July 2011, Hanningfield was sentenced to 9 months imprisonment by Maidstone crown court after the court heard evidence from Hanningfield's psychiatrist, Proff Cowey, stating "he expressed suicidal ideas" and "he told me he would be absolutely crushed by a custodial sentence". However, the prosecution argued he was well enough to attend House of Lords in the previous week.
The sentence was the shortest of anyone convicted in the expenses scandal, and Hanningfield has filed an appeal.
Hanningfield's expenses from when he was leader of Essex County Council are also under police investigation.
An appeal against his conviction was rejected by the Court of Appeal on 20 July 2011 and he has never expressed any contrition since that time
On 12th September 2011, it was reported Lord Hanningfield was released from prison on home detention curfew, after serving just a quarter of his 9 month sentence.
in Essex with his Bernese mountain dog
, Jefferson before being jailed on 1st July 2011 (see above).
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
(born 16 September 1940) is a member of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
and was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician until early 2010, when the whip was withdrawn from him as a result of investigations into his criminal behaviour in relation to his Parliamentary expenses claims. Lord Hanningfield sat on the Conservative side on Essex County Council until after the meeting of that body on 12 May 2011.
Biography
The son of Edward Ernest William White and Irene Joyce Gertrude Williamson, he was educated at King Edward VI Grammar SchoolKing Edward VI Grammar School (Chelmsford)
King Edward VI Grammar School, or KEGS, is a British grammar school located in the town of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It takes pupils between the ages of 11 and 18 — from Year 7 to 11 the pupils are exclusively male, although it becomes mixed in the sixth form .The present headteacher is Thomas...
in Chelmsford
Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
and has received a Nuffield Scholarship for Agriculture.
In 1962 he was appointed Chairman of the Young Farmers, and at the same time became a member of the Executive of Chelmsford Conservative Party, a position he held until 1999. He was first elected to Essex County Council in 1970 and served as Chairman of the council from 1989 to 1992. Hanningfield was also chair of the Council of Local Education Authorities
Local Education Authority
A local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...
between 1990 and 1992, leader of Association of County Councils
Local Government Association
The Local Government Association is a voluntary lobbying organisation acting as the voice of the local government sector in England and Wales, which seeks to be an authoritative and effective advocate on its behalf....
between 1995 and 1997. From 1997 to 2001, he was deputy chair and Conservative Group Leader of the Local Government Association
Local Government Association
The Local Government Association is a voluntary lobbying organisation acting as the voice of the local government sector in England and Wales, which seeks to be an authoritative and effective advocate on its behalf....
. He served as leader of Essex County Council from 2001 until his resignation in 2010.
On 31 July 1998, he was made a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baron Hanningfield, of Chelmsford in the County of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. In the House of Lords he served as an opposition whip and a Shadow Minister for education and transport.
Hanningfield is also a member of the Court of Essex University and a Deputy Lieutenant
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
of the County of Essex. Lord Hanningfield is also Vice Patron of the Helen Rollason Trust.
Lobbying for rural communities
On the 18th March 2009 the Countryside AllianceCountryside Alliance
The Countryside Alliance is a British organisation promoting issues relating to the countryside such as country sports, including hunting, shooting and angling...
awarded him with the Rural Vision 2009 Award for his work to protect and promote rural communities. The Alliance felt his involvement and leadership on issues such as fighting against the second runway at Stansted and post office closures showed he was a politician with the countryside's future most at heart.
Offences under the Theft Act
On 5 February 2010 it was announced that he would be charged with offences under section 17 of the Theft Act relating to false accounting for claims for overnight accommodation. He immediately resigned as OppositionOpposition (politics)
In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government , party or group in political control of a city, region, state or country...
Spokesperson for Communities, Local Government and for Transport. Also later on that day, he resigned as leader of Essex County Council and David Cameron withdrew the party whip.
On 27 May 2010 Lord Hanningfield, Jim Devine
Jim Devine
James "Jim" Devine is a former British Member of Parliament, having been the Labour Party member for Livingston from 2005 until 2010 and Chairman of the Scottish Labour Party between 1994-95....
, Elliot Morley
Elliot Morley
Elliot Anthony Morley is a former Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Glanford and Scunthorpe from 1987 to 1997 and then Scunthorpe from 1997 to 2010. In 2009, he was accused by The Daily Telegraph of continuing to claim parliamentary expenses for a mortgage that had...
and David Chaytor
David Chaytor
David Michael Chaytor is a former British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Bury North from 1997 to 2010. He was the first member of Parliament to be sentenced following the United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal of 2009.On 2 June 2009, he announced that he...
appeared at Southwark Crown Court
Southwark Crown Court
Southwark Crown Court is one of three Crown Court buildings in London SE1, along with Inner London Crown Court and Blackfriars Crown Court.Opened in 1983, the brick building is located close to the River Thames at the south of London Bridge, next to Hay's Galleria...
for a preliminary hearing. Hanningfield's trial at Chelmsford Crown Court began on 16 May 2011. He was charged with six counts of false accounting. Prosecutor Clare Montgomery QC accused the peer of claiming for overnight stays in London when he had returned to his Essex home. On one occasion, when he claimed for reimbursement for an overnight stay in London, he was actually on a plane to India.
Lord Hanningfield denied six charges of false accounting. The peer told police he had been 'singled out' and that in an interview in August 2009, he had told police: "I have done the same as 500 or 600 other peers." On 26 May 2011, Lord Hanningfield was found guilty on all six counts.
On 1st July 2011, Hanningfield was sentenced to 9 months imprisonment by Maidstone crown court after the court heard evidence from Hanningfield's psychiatrist, Proff Cowey, stating "he expressed suicidal ideas" and "he told me he would be absolutely crushed by a custodial sentence". However, the prosecution argued he was well enough to attend House of Lords in the previous week.
The sentence was the shortest of anyone convicted in the expenses scandal, and Hanningfield has filed an appeal.
Hanningfield's expenses from when he was leader of Essex County Council are also under police investigation.
An appeal against his conviction was rejected by the Court of Appeal on 20 July 2011 and he has never expressed any contrition since that time
On 12th September 2011, it was reported Lord Hanningfield was released from prison on home detention curfew, after serving just a quarter of his 9 month sentence.
Personal life
Hanningfield lived in the village of West HanningfieldWest Hanningfield
West Hanningfield is a small village and civil parish in south Essex, England. It is located approximately south-southeast of the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the borough of Chelmsford and in the parliamentary constituency of Rayleigh....
in Essex with his Bernese mountain dog
Bernese Mountain Dog
The Bernese Mountain Dog, called in German the Berner Sennenhund, is a large breed of dog, one of the four breeds of Sennenhund-type dogs from the Swiss Alps. The name Sennenhund is derived from the German "Senne" and "hund" , as they accompanied the alpine herders and dairymen called Senn...
, Jefferson before being jailed on 1st July 2011 (see above).
External links
- 2009-10 contributions in Parliament at HansardHansardHansard is the name of the printed transcripts of parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of government. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard, an early printer and publisher of these transcripts.-Origins:...
- Biography at Dod's Parliamentary CompanionDod's Parliamentary CompanionDod's Parliamentary Companion is an annual politics reference book published in the United Kingdom.It provides biographies and contact information on members of the Houses of Parliament and the Civil Service...