Ivor Richard, Baron Richard

Ivor Seward Richard, Baron Richard, QC, PC (born 30 May 1932), is a British politician belonging to the Labour Party and former member of the Commission of the European Communities.

Background

Richard is a native of Carmarthenshire in South West Wales, and went to school in Llanelli before attending the famous co-educational independent school Cheltenham College. He won the Wightwick Scholarship to Pembroke College, Oxford, where he read Jurisprudence. He was called to the Bar in 1955 and practised as a barrister in London.In 1963 he defended, under Lewis Hawser QC Brian Field, a solicitor's clerk who played "an essential role in the conspiracy" of the Great Train Robbery. Field's share of the robbery had been found in woods near Dorking and he was acquitted of the robbery on appeal, a remarkable result.

Political career

Lord Richard had been an active member of the Labour Party and the Fabian Society since University and stood for Parliament in Kensington South in the general election of 1959. This was one of the most prosperous constituencies in the whole of the country and he came third, but it was intended as no more than an opportunity to try his campaigning skills. For the 1964 election, Richard was adopted as candidate for Baron's Court, a highly marginal constituency between Hammersmith and Fulham. Baron's Court had seen knife-edge contests before and the presence of the BBC television centre nearby ensured good media coverage.