Editing Harvey Proctor

{{Short description|British former politician}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{BLP sources|date=February 2010}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = 
| name        = Harvey Proctor
| honorific-suffix = 
| image       = Harvey Proctor appearing on "After Dark", 4 June 1988.jpg
| alt         = 
| caption     = Appearing on ''[[After Dark (TV programme)|After Dark]]'' in 1988 - "[[After Dark (TV series)#Harvey Proctor and "Open To Exposure?"|Open to Exposure]]"
| office      = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br />for [[Billericay (UK Parliament constituency)|Billericay]]
| term_start  = 9 June 1983
| term_end    = 18 May 1987
| predecessor = ''New constituency''
| successor   = [[Teresa Gorman]]
| office1     = Member of Parliament<br />of [[Basildon (UK Parliament constituency)|Basildon]]
| term_start1 = 3 May 1979
| term_end1   = 13 May 1983
| predecessor1= [[Eric Moonman]]
| successor1  = [[David Amess]]
|birth_name       = Keith Harvey Proctor
|birth_date       = {{Birth date and age|1947|1|16|df=y}}
|birth_place      = [[Pontefract]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], England
|nationality      = British
|party            = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]]
|spouse           = 
|children         = 
|relations        = 
|profession       = 
|religion         = 
|signature        = 
}}
'''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|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 Proctor strongly denied. In 2016, the investigations into Proctor concluded and found the accusations to be baseless. Proctor was subsequently paid £900,000 in compensation for victimisation 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.

== Early life and career ==
{{BLP sources section|date=November 2022}}
Harvey Proctor was born in [[Pontefract]] in the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], going to the [[Graham School (Scarborough, England)|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]].

Proctor became an active member of the [[Conservative Monday Club|Monday Club]]. He was the club's assistant director from 1969 to 1971, and a member of its executive council from 1983 until he stood down as an MP in 1987.<ref name = BBC/>

In 1972, Proctor, then working as a researcher for anti-[[European Economic Community|Common Market]] Conservative MPs who tried to stop Britain entering the [[European Communities]] (EC), had been adopted as candidate for [[Hackney South and Shoreditch (UK Parliament constituency)|Hackney South and Shoreditch]]. He fought the seat at both the [[February 1974 United Kingdom general election|February]] and [[October 1974 United Kingdom general election|October]] general elections of 1974.

== In parliament ==
{{BLP unreferenced section|date=February 2021}}
Proctor won the selection for [[Basildon (UK Parliament constituency)|Basildon]] in 1978. The seat was not expected to be easy for the Conservatives to win, but Proctor was elected in the [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979 election]] after a campaign in which he argued in favour of restricting the number of "coloured" immigrants. He returned to this theme, also advocating payment for [[repatriation]], during his first term in Parliament.

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 1982–86 [[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]].

Proctor opposed, on [[Libertarianism|libertarian]] grounds, the call to boycott the [[1980 Summer Olympics|Moscow Olympics]] of 1980. He also opposed establishing the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1982, voted for the return of [[Capital punishment in the United Kingdom|capital punishment]], and rebelled on votes over the EC. In the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 election]] Proctor's seat was divided, and he moved with the more Conservative-voting part to the new [[Billericay (UK Parliament constituency)|Billericay]] seat.

He was chairman of the Monday Club's Immigration and Repatriation Committee (later renamed, under him, the Immigration and Race Relations Committee). He made a bid for election as the club's chairman in April 1982, but was defeated.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

== Resignation and trial ==
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 relationships was still 21 in 1986 (although 16 for opposite sex relationships), 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>

==Shirtmaker==
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=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>

By 1994, the shops were £150,000 in debt. Proctor said that "It has been quite a struggle to survive. It has not been helped by press comment every six months that we are closing down".<ref name = Independent/> The shops went into liquidation in 2000.<ref name=BBC/>

In 2003, Proctor became the private secretary to [[David Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland]], at [[Belvoir Castle]], Leicestershire.<ref>{{cite web|title=Belvoir Castle |url=http://www.belvoircastle.com/contact/contact-us |work=belvoircastle.com |accessdate=6 March 2015}}</ref><ref name=questia>{{cite news|title=Duke Drops His Drawbridge for Harvey Proctor; The Londoner's Diary |url=https://www.questia.com/newspaper/1G1-163094672/duke-drops-his-drawbridge-for-harvey-proctor-the |work=[[London Evening Standard]] |date=1 May 2007 |accessdate=21 November 2014}}</ref>

==Operation Midland investigation==
On 4 March 2015, Proctor's home, on the Belvoir estate, was searched by the [[Metropolitan Police]] as part of the [[Operation Midland]] investigation into allegations of historical child sexual abuse and related homicides. Proctor denied any wrongdoing in an interview with the ''[[Today (BBC Radio 4)|Today]]'' programme.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ex-Conservative MP Harvey Proctor's home searched by police|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31744282|accessdate=5 March 2015|work=BBC News|date=5 March 2015}}</ref> He retired from his job with the Duke and Duchess of Rutland on 25 March 2015, "with immediate effect".<ref name=Evans>Martin Evans [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11493844/Harvey-Proctor-quits-job-after-home-is-searched-by-abuse-probe-cops.html "Harvey Proctor quits job after home is searched by abuse probe cops"], ''Daily Telegraph'', 25 March 2015</ref>

Proctor was questioned by the police regarding the allegations in June, and again in August 2015. He held a press conference at [[St Ermin's Hotel]], London on 25 August 2015, and gave several media interviews. He described the inquiry as a "homosexual witch hunt", stating: "I'm a homosexual. I'm not a murderer or a paedophile. I'm completely innocent of all these allegations."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.channel4.com/news/former-tory-mp-denies-child-murder-claims|title=Former Tory MP Harvey Proctor denies child murder claims|work=Channel 4 News|date=25 August 2015|accessdate=25 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34054955|title=Ex-MP Harvey Proctor denies child abuse claims|work=BBC News|date=25 August 2015|accessdate=25 August 2015}}</ref>

On 21 March 2016, Proctor was told that he would face no further action. He was the last living person under investigation by Operation Midland, and called for an independent inquiry into it, for the resignations of senior officers involved, and for his accuser to be prosecuted for [[perverting the course of justice]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/12200144/Operation-Midland-Harvey-Proctor-told-he-faces-no-further-action.html|title=Operation Midland: Harvey Proctor told he faces no further action|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=21 March 2016|accessdate=21 March 2016}}</ref> Proctor wrote an open letter to all MPs published in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' on 21 March 2016. The Metropolitan Police closed Operation Midland with no charges brought and no files passed to the [[Crown Prosecution Service]]. Proctor held a further press conference on 29 March 2016 and was interviewed on many news outlets including BBC, ITV, [[Sky News]] and ''[[Channel 4 News]]'' and BBC ''[[Newsnight]]'' programmes.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

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 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>

On 10 October 2017, Proctor criticised [[Mike Veale]], the Chief Constable of [[Wiltshire Police]], for allegedly "trashing" his reputation a second time by reviving claims of an establishment paedophile ring. Veale had called for a fresh inquiry into claims of cover-up and conspiracy in Westminster.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/police-chief-is-trashing-my-reputation-says-harvey-proctor-8whrglfhx|title=Wiltshire police chief Mike Veale is trashing my reputation, says Harvey Proctor|first=Fiona |last=Hamilton|date=10 October 2017|work=The Times}}</ref>

In June 2019, Proctor appeared at [[Newcastle Crown Court]] where he gave evidence at the trial of [[Operation Midland|Carl Beech]], who was accused of lying to police about the alleged VIP paedophile ring investigated by Operation Midland. Proctor said: "The allegations are wrong, malicious, false, horrendous" and later explained that intense media interest, following the police raid, had led to him losing his job and then him deciding to move to Spain as the UK "wasn't safe".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48705912|title=Abuse claims 'horrendous' says former MP|date=20 June 2019|accessdate=20 June 2019|work=BBC News}}</ref> At that trial, Beech was convicted for making false claims against Proctor and other victims, and sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49074879|title=Carl Beech trial: 'VIP abuse' accuser guilty of false claims|date=22 July 2019|accessdate=23 July 2019|work=BBC News}}</ref>

In September 2019, Proctor criticised the [[Independent Office for Police Conduct]] for clearing the Met officers who investigated allegations made by Beech. Proctor said that "to fail to condemn this police misbehaviour in the strongest terms and at the first opportunity, is a dereliction of duty".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/sep/08/harvey-proctor-attacks-police-watchdog-after-met-officers-cleared|title=Harvey Proctor attacks police watchdog after Met officers cleared|last=Greenfield|first=Patrick|date=8 September 2019|website=The Guardian}}</ref>

In November 2019, it was reported that Proctor received a £900,000 payout in compensation and legal fees from the Metropolitan Police as a result of the police force's handling of the failed Operation Midland.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Evans |first1=Martin |title=Harvey Proctor slams Met as he accepts £900,000 payout for disastrous Operation Midland sex abuse probe |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/11/28/harvey-proctor-receive-900000-metropolitan-police-handling-vip/ |website=The Telegraph |accessdate=11 April 2020 |date=28 November 2019}}</ref>

== Publications ==
* ''Immigration, Repatriation, & the C.R.E.'', by K. Harvey Proctor, MP, [[John R. Pinniger]], MA, with a foreword by [[Ronald Bell (UK politician)|Sir Ronald Bell]], QC, MP, published by the Monday Club, 1981, (P/B)
* ''Immigration – An Untenable Situation'' by K. Harvey Proctor, MP, and John R. Pinniger, MA, Policy Paper from the Monday Club's Immigration and Repatriation Policy Committee, October 1981
* ''Race Relations & Immigration'' by K. Harvey Proctor, MP, and John R. Pinniger, MA, Policy Paper from the Monday Club's Immigration & Race Relations Committee, October 1982
* ''Blackpool Revisited'', (calling for an examination of the Immigration issue), in ''Right Ahead'', Monday Club newspaper, October 1985 Conservative Party Conference issue
* ''Credible and True. The Political and  Personal Memoir of K. Harvey Proctor'', published in hardback by [[Biteback|Biteback Publishing]] on 29 March 2016

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{Succession box
  | title  = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br />for [[Basildon (UK Parliament constituency)|Basildon]]
  | years  = [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979]]–[[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983]]
  | before = [[Eric Moonman]]
  | after  = [[David Amess]]
}}
{{s-new | constituency}}
{{s-ttl
  | title  = Member of Parliament<br />for [[Billericay (UK Parliament constituency)|Billericay]]
  | years  = [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983]]–[[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987]]
}}
{{S-aft| after = [[Teresa Gorman]] }}
{{S-end}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Proctor, Harvey}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of York]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:English fashion designers]]
[[Category:English victims of crime]]
[[Category:English gay politicians]]
[[Category:LGBTQ fashion designers]]
[[Category:Politicians from Pontefract]]
[[Category:Politics of the Borough of Basildon]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1979–1983]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1983–1987]]
[[Category:LGBTQ members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:False allegations of sex crimes]]
[[Category:People educated at Scarborough High School for Boys]]