Hamilton said he had coloured himself black in 1982 to look like Idi Amin and dressed as Canon James Owen on a boat on the River Cam. [78] Dale Campbell-Savours claimed he had evidence in the form of a letter from Pedley to the former Party Chairman, John Selwyn Gummer, demonstrating Conservative Central Office (CCO) had contacted witnesses. [27], Denmark rejected the Maastricht Treaty on 2 June 1992. Those qualities, after all, along with a few other nastier ones, were what shot him into the public eye in the first place, when he was accused by Mohammed Al Fayed of accepting "cash for questions" - of taking payment to make planted inquiries in the House of Commons in return for plain brown envelopes stuffed with cash. People such as the Hamiltons are evidence of our impatience with that ritual, and our frustration over its hit-and-miss qualities. Why did Nadine Milroy-Sloan make her own accusation? Neil Hamilton's strategy is simply to deny everything. [110] The investigation against the couple was dropped when it became apparent that the accusations were entirely false. No sooner had the Hamiltons arrived in Hong Kong than Neil Hamilton phoned Lord King's office. If he had, we would have known, because he would have told everyone all about it. "[64], The prosecution was financed by Sir James Goldsmith[65] and Taki, The Spectator columnist. [93] He came third behind the Labour and Conservative candidates with 2,023 votes (8.6%).[54]. Hamilton said in his own evidence: "I have never received a penny from Mr Fayed; I have never asked. [19], In 1985, he began working for Ian Greer Associates, lobbying on behalf of US Tobacco. Neil and Christine Hamilton were once invited to Taiwan by British Airways, back in the days when Lord King was chairman. All we ask is to be judged by the standards of the time. Hamilton resisted the pressure from senior Conservatives and Conservative Central Office to stand down. Press interest turned to Hamilton's past statements about the Berlin visit, over which Tory witnesses were alleged to have been pressured to say that they had not seen goose-stepping or Nazi-style salutes. April 28, 2021, 10:03 am. Three months later, at the 1983 general election Hamilton was elected to Parliament as MP for Tatton. With Louis Theroux, Neil Hamilton, Christine Hamilton, Gyles Brandreth. He was a barrister but always said he would not return to that "constipated" profession.He married Christine in a hurried ceremony in Cornwall while he was fighting his parliamentary campaign in 1983.At that wedding, the Hamiltons typically used as a buttonhole the rose Invincible, specially grown, bred and named as a tribute to the Falklands task force.He was a very visible presence in the House of Commons. Hamilton attended Amman Valley Grammar School in Ammanford. The Party Chairman Sir Norman Fowler was outraged, and said the Conservative Party was not related to the Western Goals Institute. Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian, said: "The decision by Neil Hamilton and Ian Greer must be one of the most astonishing legal cave-ins in the history of the law of libel" and called for the issues to be examined by Sir Gordon Downey, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, and the Inland Revenue. In 1997, Tatton was the fourth safest Conservative seat in Britain. It is those false claims that have finally come to yield such splendid rewards. Two men were later imprisoned for the assault. "[74], Howarth and Hamilton said the case against Pedley would not be dropped and Pedley said he would not be joining the BBC decision. [127] To Jeremy Corbyn, he suggested that "some of [his] IRA friends could be used to get rid of pensioners by shooting them"also in 1987. Hamilton said that Powell "changed politics by articulating the fears and resentments of millions and millions of people who are being ignored by the establishment". [citation needed], In June 1990, Hamilton was recruited by the right-wing Monday Club activist Derek Laud to work for Strategy Network International, a firm specifically created to lobby against anti-apartheid movements and economic sanctions and for apartheid South Africa's 'transitional government' of Namibia set up in defiance of UN Resolution 435 on Namibian independence. "[72] Attention focussed on the actions of Malcolm McAlpine, a cousin of Alistair McAlpine, the treasurer of the Conservative Party: "He denied yesterday that he had promised Mr Hamilton that he could 'deliver' the governors behind a settlement".[72]. Christine Hamilton was born on the 10th of November, 1949. Mr W. Mason, Chief General Manager of the NRMA, and Mr. R.E. [84] The Independent revealed the existence of a taped conversation of a Tory witness being "shaken rigid" by Central Office's suggestion that the Berlin events had not happened and "no other witness would substantiate or give evidence about those alleged incidents" and the witness was told no other witness would back his account. In September 2020, Hamilton was named acting leader of UKIP, following the suspension from the party of the previous leader, Freddy Vachha. Alexis manages to pull herself up and make her way to Kendra's car. "[8] The journalist John Sweeney later published Purple Homicide, an account of the campaign for the Tatton seat. The Director-General, Alasdair Milne, stated he was instructed to do so by the Governors of the BBC. Martin Smyth. The irony is that had the Hamiltons not been such shameless publicity seekers, they would not have attracted the false accusation that has proved so profitable in the first place. He argued there was no evidence that leaded petrol was damaging the environment, or health, and that jobs would be lost in his constituency if leaded petrol was banned. There was no further mention of hotel bills.The Hamiltons are vulgar and greedy. Along with his wife, Hamilton earns his living as a "celebrity", prostituting his notoriety for money and making freak-show entertainment out of his lack of shame and remorse. Mr Pedley indicated that he intends to continue the case. Legal career [ edit] From September 1979, Hamilton practised as a barrister. [citation needed], In November 1989, Hamilton won the Spectator parliamentary wit of the year award. Neil and Christine Hamilton are very far from being the only people able to parlay notoriety into fame and money. Christine wrote a book of Battleaxes, Neil wrote a book of political eccentrics. Actress: Lady Godiva: Back in the Saddle. [132] The trading name of Vixen Consultants is Christine Hamilton.[133]. Hamilton was a teacher at St John's College in Southsea between 1973 and 1976. At Newman Media, Nate asks Audra what she thinks of mashups like country rock. [5] While at Aberystwyth, he was active in the Federation of Conservative Students; he was a member between 1968 and 1974. [46] Nathan Gill subsequently left the UKIP group in the assembly to sit as an independent,[47] resulting in Neil Hamilton becoming UKIP's Leader in Wales in September 2016. 28:45. Justice Simon Brown ruled that Hamilton and Howarth be debarred from alleging Pedley's words were libel and should pay Pedley's costs.[90]. Campbell-Savours claimed this was proof of BBC nobbling and announced that he was sending his evidence to Sir Michael Havers, the Attorney General. However, Pedley reaffirmed that he "had no intention of withdrawing from the case. Both Hamilton and Michael Brown had received a 6,000 honorarium and hospitality from Skoal Bandits. Christine fronted her own BBC Choice chat show, interviewing other notorious curiosities from James Hewitt to Jonathan Aitken, and naturally giving them a silky soft ride. [120], In 2001 Hamilton appeared on When Louis Met, a documentary by Louis Theroux, during which he described himself and his wife as "professional objects of curiosity". The reason why the Hamiltons have acquired this undisclosed fortune is odd. Burnside, a tough Ulsterman, was unamused by the Hamiltons' tricks. "[52], In April 2018, Hamilton said that "the idea that Enoch Powell was some kind of uniquely racist villain is absolute nonsense". He now had a friend in a crucial ministry, and brown envelopes or not, there had been a lavish week at the Ritz to build up a debt of gratitude.Al-Fayed promptly wrote to congratulate Neil Hamilton on his appointment, but the reply came as a rude shock. English author and media personality who has appeared on television shows such as GMTV. [30] Their accuser, Nadine Milroy-Sloan, was charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice, and in 2002 sentenced to 3 years imprisonment for making the false accusations.[31][32][33][34]. [88] Hamilton's admission had the effect of reaffirming the testimony of the two witnesses who alleged he had given a Nazi salute in Berlin and exposing those witnesses who had reversed their position. He was instructed by the presiding officer to apologise for the remark. I know, I've had 3 or 4 glasses of wine. [15], In 1984, against party policy, Hamilton opposed the abandonment of leaded petrol in Britain. Hamilton and his wife were cross-examined by George Carman QC. [81] Later that day, Hamilton announced that he was dropping the action against Pedley. [citation needed] He appeared on stage in The Rocky Horror Show wearing six-inch stiletto heels, a basque, suspenders and stockings, however he declined to appear on "Big Brother" or "Celebrity Wife Swap. It had never occurred to Neil Hamilton to do other than observe the ministerial code of ethics. His grandfathers were coal miners. They appeared in panto in Guildford. The episode was recorded one week after Hamilton lost his seat. She appeared on the television talk show Loose Women, starring Nadia Sawalha. In the immediate aftermath of the BBC settlement, allegations of witness intimidation abounded. A Nazi salute is a criminal offence in the Federal Republic of Germany. bobalmighty. bobalmighty. She attended Wentworth College, an independent boarding school for girls in Bournemouth[3] and a co-educational Grammar School in Christchurch, Dorset. Hamilton was a member of the "No Turning Back group", advocating Thatcherite policies. When he was made Parliamentary Wit of the Year by The Spectator magazine in 1989, he said he thought it had made him Twit of the Year.He dismissed Nelson Mandela's African National Congress as "a typical terrorist organisation" and he attacked the BBC for screening a Mandela pop concert at Wembley in 1988 before the ANC leader was released from prison.Although now classed as a bankrupt, while managing to keep two homes, Neil Hamilton still operates in London's leading social circles. The Hamiltons flew first class, naturally, and BA took care of all the bills, which is how they like to travel.Towards the end of their stay, they asked if they could come back via Hong Kong; the airline was happy to agree. "[82] Hamilton's announcement failed to quell demands for an enquiry and Campbell-Savours denounced Tebbit's tactic of making his statements outside the House of Commons chamber, accusing him of "a deliberate ploy to avoid placing himself in contempt by misleading the House in a personal statement". Carman put to Hamilton that he had acted corruptly to demand and then take 10,000 from Mobil Oil in 1989 for tabling an amendment to a finance bill. While Hamilton did not deny the holiday, he continued to maintain that he was innocent of improper conduct. Find E Notify stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. In return, the men were to ask questions on behalf of Al-Fayed in the House of Commons. [108][2] A year later, Hamilton lost his appeal against the decision,[109] and was refused leave to appeal to the House of Lords on 2 April 2001. He criticised BBC Wales for excluding UKIP from the main leaders' debates, with Hamilton instead being invited to a separate debate alongside Reform UK and the Wales Green Party. November 1999: Neil Hamilton, with his wife Christine, sues Mr Fayed in a memorable libel action and tries to clear his name of sleaze allegations. During a debate about amputees he said that Frank Dobson "does not have a leg to stand on". Go to Wimbledon any day and it was packed with MPs. So it should have been easy to trace the impact of the brown envelopes on his credit cards and money machine cards; all the evidence would be on file. In November 1990, Michael Heseltine initiated a leadership challenge to Margaret Thatcher. [21] Hamilton toured her one-woman show, Share an Evening with Christine Hamilton, in 2003,[22] and has appeared several times in Eve Ensler's play The Vagina Monologues, including its 2005 West End run at Wyndhams Theatre, where she appeared alongside Jenny Eclair and Heather Small. The chairman, Richard Fuller, told the Eastern Area Young Conservatives: "I find it strange that they have apparently decided to settle now, when things appeared to be going well. [37] He later become deputy chairman of the party. She was supposed to be the one running the B&B then suddenly, she disappears and we never see her again and the story changes to Meri's mother running it. "I consider I have the responsibility to vindicate the good work done by the members of that committee. Hamilton brought legal action for libel against The Guardian. In his spare time he studied for his bar practice exam. Their home in Nether Alderley, Cheshire was sold to the market for 1.25 million. Just before they went to the police on the latest allegations they were at the funeral of Lord Longford at Westminster Cathedral.All through these times, Christine Hamilton has stood by her man, even hosting a television chat show, talking to celebrities about adversity in their lives and compiling a Bumper Book of British Battle Axes.She is well versed in politics. The primary claim of corruption, by Mr Fayed, that he had given Hamilton cash in return for questions in the Commons, still stands. [103] Other contributors to the fund included Simon Heffer, Norris McWhirter, Peter Clarke, Lord Bell, Gyles Brandreth and Gerald Howarth (Hamilton's co-plaintiff in the BBC action). It was probably that, as much as a desire to front things out, that led the pair to relaunch themselves as what Neil calls "media butterflies living on our wits, broadcasting. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, Another pay day for Neil and Christine, the couple who turn muck into, Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Up to 20% off & extra perks with Booking.com Genius Membership, $6 off a $50+ order with this AliExpress discount code, 10% off selected orders over 100 - eBay discount code, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK March 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this March, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands.