David Mellor
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The Right Honourable David Mellor QC (born 12 March, 1949) is a British Conservative politician and barrister.
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Political career
He attended Christ's College, Cambridge. He became a barrister in 1972. He became the MP for Putney in 1979, and was made Queen's Counsel in 1987, and was briefly Arts Minister before becoming Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 1990 in John Major's first Cabinet. In 1992 he was made Secretary of State for the newly created Department for National Heritage (during which period he was vernacularly known as 'Minister for Fun') but he was forced to resign in September of that year, amid media coverage of an extra-marital affair with actress Antonia de Sancha.
He contested the 1997 general election, but was defeated by Labour's Tony Colman. However, the election night was more memorable for Mellor's showdown with Referendum Party founder Sir James Goldsmith — Mellor was taunted by Goldsmith and a crowd of other candidates (who gave him a slow hand clap and shouted "Out! Out! Out!") during his vote of thanks. Mellor retorted:
- "... and Sir James ... you have nothing to be smug about ... I think we have shown tonight that the Referendum Party is dead in the water, and you can get back off to Mexico in the knowledge that your attempt to buy the British political system has failed!".
Scandal
Involved in a kiss-and-tell scandal in which an actress called Antonia de Sancha sold her story of her affair with Mellor for £30,000. Their conversation had been recorded without his consent, but it turned out it was not illegal as it was not illegal to bug your own property. This was during John Major's attempt to re-establish the Conservative government with a Back to Basics campaign. Max Clifford famously included an unfounded fact in the story that he asked her to make love in his Chelsea F.C. shirt. The event gave a new meaning to David Mellor's nickname: Minister for Fun. He resigned after constant hostile stories from the tabloid press. In a letter to the prime minister he said he had become a burden to his colleagues and a point of weakness in the government, leaving him with no option to resign.
After Parliament
He was chairman of the incoming Labour government's "Football Task Force" in August 1997 until its dissolution in 1999. He has also pursued a journalism career, and has written for the Evening Standard, The Guardian and The People, usually on sport or the arts. He regularly presented football-related programmes on BBC Radio 5 until 2001, as well as classical music programmes on Radio 2 and Radio 3. He currently presents If You Like That, You'll Like This and The New CD Show on Classic FM.
See also
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