Harvey Proctor: Difference between revisions

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 20132021}}

| caption = Appearing on ''[[After Dark (TV programme)|After Dark]]'' in 1988 - "[[After Dark (TV series)#Harvey Proctor and "Open To Exposure?"|Open to Exposure]]"

| term_start = 9 June 1983

| term_end = 18 11 JuneMay 1987

| predecessor = ''New constituency''

| successor = [[Teresa Gorman]]

| term_start1 = 3 May 1979

| term_end1 = 13 9 JuneMay 1983

| predecessor1= [[Eric Moonman]]

| successor1 = [[David Amess]]

'''Keith Harvey Proctor'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iiIeH2_x7K4C&q=%22Keith+Harvey+Proctor|title=Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), Official Report, 6th Series|first=Great Britain Parliament House of|last=Commons|date=21 June 1983|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office|via=Google Books}}</ref> (born 16 January 1947)<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aJPGCwAAQBAJ|title=Credible and True: The Political and Personal Memoir of K. Harvey Proctor|first=K. Harvey|last=Proctor|date=29 March 2016|publisher=Biteback Publishing|isbn=9781785900594|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Mr Harvey Proctor: speeches in 1985 (Hansard)|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/people/mr-harvey-proctor/1985|access-date=1 July 2021-07-01|website=api.parliament.uk}}</ref> is a British former [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]].<ref name = BBC>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/16/newsid_2524000/2524727.stm |title= MP on gay sex charges |work =BBC News Online |accessdate=19 February 2010| date=16 April 1987| location=London}}</ref> A member of the [[Conservative Monday Club|Monday Club]], he represented [[Basildon (UK Parliament constituency)|Basildon]] from 1979 to 1983 and [[Billericay (UK Parliament constituency)|Billericay]] from 1983 to 1987. Proctor became embroiled in a scandal involving sexual relationships with males under 21 which culminated in criminal convictions and ended his parliamentary career. He was later one of those accused by [[Operation Midland|Carl Beech]] of being part of an abuse ring, something which Harvey utterly denied. In 2016, the investigations into Proctor concluded and found the accusations to be baseless. Proctor was subsequently paid £900,000 in compensation for victimization through the botched [[Operation Midland]]. His experience has seen him lead efforts to protect those in the public eye from unfair attacks by the media.

Harvey Proctor was born in [[Pontefract]] in the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], going to the [[Graham School|Scarborough High School for Boys]] and then the [[University of York]] where he read history. He had joined the [[Young Conservatives (UK)|Young Conservatives]] at the age of 14 in 1961, and was chairman of [[University of York Conservative and Unionist Association|York University Conservative Association]] from 1967 to 1969.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Payne |first=Samantha |date=3 March 2015 |title=Who is Harvey Proctor? Disgraced 'spanking' MP who denies further 'rent-boy' allegations |url=https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/who-harvey-proctor-disgraced-spanking-mp-who-denies-further-rent-boy-allegations-1490646 |access-date=11 November 2022 |website=International Business Times UK}}</ref> In the summer of 1967, while chairman-elect of the association, he was invited to produce a number of half-hour political programmes for broadcast on offshore [[Radio 270]], which included interviews with MPs [[John Biggs-Davison]] and [[Patrick Wall]].

{{BLP unsourcedunreferenced section|date=February 2021}}

Originally as secretary of the Monday Club's Northern Ireland Policy Committee, he backed calls from MPs of the [[Ulster Unionist Party]] (UUP) for Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] to implement her 1979 Conservative manifesto commitment to "establish one or more elected regional councils in Northern Ireland with a wide range of powers over local services" in place of the 1982-861982–86 [[Northern Ireland Assembly (1982)|Northern Ireland Assembly]], and also opposed the [[Anglo-Irish Agreement]]. This earned him the admiration and support of the UUP leader [[James Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead|James Molyneaux]] (later Lord Molyneaux) and the UUP chief whip, [[William Ross (Unionist politician)|Willie Ross]].

In June 1986, ''[[The Sunday People|The People]]'' newspaper published claims that Proctor had taken part in sexual relationships with male prostitutes aged between 17 and 21, in his London flat in exchange for money, and took indecent photos of them with a [[Polaroid camera]]. The age of consent for same-sex prostitutionrelationships was still 21 in 1986 (although 1816 for opposite- sex prostitutionrelationships), no specific legislation existed at the time regarding minimum ages for prostitution and the following year Proctor was charged with [[gross indecency]] and resigned his candidature. He was succeeded as MP by [[Teresa Gorman]] at the [[1987 United Kingdom general election|general election]]. At his trial in May 1987, Proctor pleaded guilty to four acts of gross indecency with a 17-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man and was fined a total of £1,450.<ref name = BBC/><ref>{{cite news |work=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Glasgow Herald]] |page=1 |date=21 May 1987 |accessdate=14 February 2010 |title=Proctor is fined £1450 for spanking rent boys |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5yo1AAAAIBAJ&pg=3230,5279144}}</ref>

Following his resignation, Proctor opened an eponymous shirtmakers, Proctor's, in [[Richmond, London|Richmond, Greater London]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/members-interests-top-tories-lose-on-proctors-shop-the-retailer-1445666.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220509/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/members-interests-top-tories-lose-on-proctors-shop-the-retailer-1445666.html |archive-date=9 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Members' Interests: Top Tories lose on Proctor's shop: The Retailer|date=30 October 1994|work=The Independent|access-date=2018-09-29 September 2018|language=en-GB}}</ref> The shop was launched with a £75,000 fund organised by [[Tristan Garel-Jones]] MP.<ref name=":0" /> A second shop was later opened in [[Knightsbridge]]. Several Conservative politicians invested in the shop, including [[Michael Heseltine]] and [[Jeffrey Archer]], and by 1994 eleven Conservative MPs were shareholders in its parent company, Cottonrose Ltd.<ref name=":0" /> Proctor's shirts were also worn by the Prime Minister, [[John Major]].<ref name=":0" />

In 1992, Proctor was a victim of a [[Gay bashing|homophobic attack]] in his shop. [[Neil Hamilton (politician)|Neil Hamilton]] MP was present at the time, and defended Proctor. Hamilton suffered a broken nose in the incident. Two men were later imprisoned for the assault.<ref name=BBC/><ref name = Independent>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/court-threat-to-proctor-over-shop-accounts-1270333.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220509/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/court-threat-to-proctor-over-shop-accounts-1270333.html |archive-date=9 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Court Threat to Proctor Over Shop Accounts |first=Fran |last=Abrams |work=[[The Independent]] |location=London |date=1 March 1997 |accessdate=8 October 2013}}</ref>

Following the publication of [[Richard Henriques|Sir Richard Henriques]]' Report on Operation Midland and other police investigations on 8 November 2016, [[Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe]], the [[Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis]], apologised to Proctor and others for the over 40 mistakes made by the Metropolitan Police service in Operation Midland. He said Proctor was innocent of all the allegations. On 15 November 2016 Hogan-Howe met Proctor at Hogan-Howe's request in Dean's Yard, London and repeated his apology and said he was very, very sorry for the MPS's mistakes. Proctor sued the Metropolitan Police in February 2017.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/victims-of-abuse-inquiry-blunders-sue-met-for-3m-fx59stc2h |last1=O'Neill |last2=Hamilton |first1= Sean |first2= Fiona | work=[[The Times]]| title=Victims of abuse inquiry blunders sue Met for £3m | date= 14 February 2017 | accessdate= 15 February 2017}}</ref>

* ''Credible and True. The politicalPolitical and Personal Memoir of K. Harvey Proctor'', published in hard back by [[Biteback|Biteback Publishing]] on 29 March 2016

[[Category:GayEnglish gay politicians]]

[[Category:LGBTLGBTQ fashion designers]]

[[Category:LGBTLGBTQ politiciansmembers fromof Englandthe Parliament of the United Kingdom]]