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{{short description|British Conservative politician (1934–2001)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix =
|honorific-prefix =
|name = Michael Grylls
|name = Sir Michael Grylls
|honorific-suffix =
|honorific-suffix =
|image =https://goo.gl/images/rPSSc9
|image = Michael Grylls.webp
|constituency_MP = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br />for [[North West Surrey (UK Parliament constituency)|North West Surrey]] <br />{{nobold|([[Chertsey (UK Parliament constituency)|Chertsey]], 1970–1974)}}
|office = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br />for [[North West Surrey (UK Parliament constituency)|North West Surrey]] <br />{{nobold|([[Chertsey (UK Parliament constituency)|Chertsey]], 1970–1974)}}
|parliament =
|parliament =
|majority =
|majority =
|term_start = 18 June 1970
|term_start = 18 June 1970
|term_end = 8 April 1997
|term_end = 8 April 1997
|predecessor = [[Boundary Commissions (United Kingdom)|Constituency established]]
|predecessor = [[Lionel Heald]]
|successor = Constituency abolished
|successor = ''Constituency abolished''
|birth_name=William Michael John Grylls
|predecessor = [[Lionel Heald]]
|successor = Constituency abolished; see [[Surrey Heath (UK Parliament constituency)|Surrey Heath]]
|birth_date = {{birth date|1934|02|21|df=yes}}
|birth_date = {{birth date|1934|02|21|df=yes}}
|birth_place = [[Folkestone]], [[Kent]], [[England]]
|birth_place = [[Folkestone]], [[Kent]], England
|death_date = {{death date and age|2001|02|07|1934|02|21|df=yes}}
|death_date = {{death date and age|2001|02|07|1934|02|21|df=yes}}
|death_place = England
|death_place = England
|restingplace =
|restingplace =
|birthname =
|birthname =
|nationality = [[United Kingdom|British]]
|party = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
|party = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
|otherparty =
|otherparty =
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|children = 2; including [[Bear Grylls]]
|children = 2; including [[Bear Grylls]]
|residence =
|residence =
|alma_mater = [[Britannia Royal Naval College|Royal Naval College, Dartmouth]]<br />[[Complutense University of Madrid|University of Madrid]]
|alma_mater = {{ubl|[[Britannia Royal Naval College|Royal Naval College, Dartmouth]]|[[Complutense University of Madrid|University of Madrid]]}}
|occupation =
|occupation =
|profession =
|profession =
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}}
}}


'''Sir William Michael John Grylls''' (21 February 1934 – 7 February 2001), known as '''Michael Grylls''', was a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] politician. He was implicated in the [[cash-for-questions affair]], a political scandal of the 1990s. He was the father of adventurer and [[Chief Scout (The Scout Association)|Chief Scout]] [[Bear Grylls]].
'''Sir William Michael John Grylls''' (21 February 1934 – 7 February 2001) was a British [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] politician. He was implicated in the [[cash-for-questions affair]], a political scandal of the 1990s. He was the father of adventurer and the [[Scout Association]]'s [[Chief Scout (The Scout Association)|Chief Scout]] [[Bear Grylls]].


==Education and early career==
==Education and early career==
The son of William Edward Harvey Grylls {{post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE}}, of Winterbourne Zelston House, [[Blandford]], [[Dorset]], a [[Brigadier]] in the [[15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars]] of a family that can be traced back to 17th century [[Cornwall]], he was educated at the [[Royal Naval College, Dartmouth]]. His eyesight was not good enough for the Navy, so he joined the [[Royal Marines]], and saw active service, leaving in 1955, and studying Spanish at the [[Complutense University of Madrid|University of Madrid]].<ref name="telegraph">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1322322/Sir-Michael-Grylls.html |title=Obituary: Sir Michael Grylls |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=13 February 2001 |publisher=[[Telegraph Media Group|TMG]] |location=[[London, UK|London]] |issn=0307-1235 |oclc=49632006 |accessdate=8 July 2015}}</ref>
Grylls was born in Folkestone, Kent, the son of [[Brigadier]] William Edward Harvey Grylls {{post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE}}, of the [[15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars]], and Rachel Elizabeth, daughter of Brigadier General Kempster Kenmure Knapp and a cousin of the journalist and Conservative politician [[Bill Deedes]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sophiamoneycoutts.com/a-thing-about-tories-and-drugs|title=A thing about Tories and drugs|date=22 January 2016}}</ref><ref>The Times Law Reports and Commercial Cases, part 1, ed. William Frederick Barry, Times Publishing Co., 1952, p. 468</ref> The Grylls family owned and lived at Winterbourne Zelston House, [[Blandford]], [[Dorset]]; the family can be traced back to 17th century [[Cornwall]]. He was educated at the [[Royal Naval College, Dartmouth]]. His eyesight was not good enough for the Navy, so he joined the [[Royal Marines]], and saw active service, leaving in 1955, and studying Spanish at the [[Complutense University of Madrid|University of Madrid]].<ref name="telegraph">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1322322/Sir-Michael-Grylls.html |title=Obituary: Sir Michael Grylls |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=13 February 2001 |location=[[London, UK|London]] |issn=0307-1235 |oclc=49632006}}</ref>


He turned his hand to business, setting up a wine importing firm called the '[[Costa Brava]] Company'. His description of some of his products as "Spanish champagne" provoked the ire of both the makers of genuine [[champagne (wine)|champagne]] and its London importers; he was unsuccessfully prosecuted for trading under a false description, but they won a [[civil action]] against him for "[[passing off]]", i.e. misrepresenting his goods by using someone else's trademark.<ref name="telegraph"/>
He turned his hand to business, setting up a wine importing firm called the '[[Costa Brava]] Company'. His description of some of his products as "Spanish champagne" provoked the ire of both the makers of genuine [[champagne (wine)|champagne]] and its London importers; he was unsuccessfully prosecuted for trading under a false description, but they won a [[civil action]] against him for "[[passing off]]", i.e. misrepresenting his goods by using someone else's trademark.<ref name="telegraph"/>


From 1959 he served as a councillor on [[Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras|St. Pancras Borough Council]], and was elected to the [[Greater London Council]] for the [[Cities of London and Westminster]] from 1967–70.
From 1959 he served as a councillor on [[Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras|St. Pancras Borough Council]], and was elected to the [[Greater London Council]] for [[Westminster and the City of London (electoral division)|Westminster and the City of London]] from 1967 to 1970.


==Family==
==Family==
Grylls married Sarah (Sally) Smiles Justice Ford, the daughter of [[Patricia Ford (politician)|Patricia Ford, Lady Fisher]], briefly an [[Ulster Unionist]] MP, and cricketer [[Neville Ford|Neville Montagu Ford]]. Sally is the stepdaughter of Conservative MP [[Nigel Fisher]] and the stepsister of Labour MP [[Mark Fisher (politician)|Mark Fisher]]. The Gryllses have one daughter, Lara Sarah Grylls, and one son, the adventurer and [[Chief Scout (The Scout Association)|Chief Scout]] [[Bear Grylls|Edward Michael "Bear" Grylls]], who is most recognised as the host of ''[[Born Survivor]]''.
Grylls married Sarah (Sally) Smiles Justice Ford, the daughter of [[Patricia Ford (politician)|Patricia Ford, Lady Fisher]], briefly an [[Ulster Unionist]] MP, and cricketer [[Neville Ford|Neville Montagu Ford]]. Sally is the stepdaughter of Conservative MP [[Nigel Fisher]] and the stepsister of Labour MP [[Mark Fisher (politician)|Mark Fisher]]. The Gryllses have one daughter, Lara Sarah Grylls, and one son, [[Bear Grylls|Edward Michael "Bear" Grylls]], the adventurer, TV presenter and the [[Scout Association]]’s [[Chief Scout (The Scout Association)|Chief Scout]], who is most recognised as the host of ''[[Born Survivor]]''.


==Career as Member of Parliament==
==Career as Member of Parliament==
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[[Andrew Roth]], author of ''Parliamentary Profiles'', in assessing Grylls's ideology, accused him of "opportunistic deviations", for example favouring little state interference with business, but supporting public funds for [[British Aerospace]], which was a large employer in his constituency.<ref name="guardianobit">{{cite web |url= https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/feb/24/guardianobituaries.obituaries |title=Obituary: Sir Michael Grylls |first=Andrew |last=Roth |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=24 February 2001 |accessdate=8 July 2015}}</ref>
[[Andrew Roth]], author of ''Parliamentary Profiles'', in assessing Grylls's ideology, accused him of "opportunistic deviations", for example favouring little state interference with business, but supporting public funds for [[British Aerospace]], which was a large employer in his constituency.<ref name="guardianobit">{{cite web |url= https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/feb/24/guardianobituaries.obituaries |title=Obituary: Sir Michael Grylls |first=Andrew |last=Roth |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=24 February 2001 |accessdate=8 July 2015}}</ref>


He was knighted in 1992.<ref>{{London Gazette |date=29 May 1992 |issue=52935 |page=9177 }}</ref>
He was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] in the [[1992 New Year Honours|1992 New Years Honours List]].<ref>{{London Gazette |date=29 May 1992 |issue=52935 |page=9177 }}</ref>


==Cash for questions==
==Cash for questions==
{{Main|Cash-for-questions affair}}
{{Main|Cash-for-questions affair}}
For some years Grylls had acted as a consultant to the lobbying company run by [[Ian Greer (lobbyist)|Ian Greer]] at the heart of the ''Cash-for-Questions'' inquiry. The [[Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards]], Sir [[Gordon Downey]], stated that Grylls had "seriously misled" the [[Select committee (United Kingdom)|select committee]] on members' interests in 1990 (replaced in 1995 by the [[Standards and Privileges Committee]]) by understating the number of payments he had received for introducing clients to ministers<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/news/07/0704/downey.shtml |title=Cash For Questions - The Downey Report |work=BBC Politics 97 |year=1997 |accessdate=8 July 2015}}</ref> and Grylls' conduct, said Sir Gordon, had fallen "below the standards the House is entitled to expect of its members".<ref name="guardianobit"/><ref name="sleaze-report">{{cite news |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-sleaze-report-five-men-who-fell-below-the-standards-that-parliament-demands-from-an-mp-1248834.html |title=The sleaze report: Five men who fell below the standards that Parliament demands from an MP |work=[[The Independent]] |date=4 July 1997 |publisher=[[Independent News & Media|INM]] |location=[[London, UK|London]] |issn=0951-9467 |oclc=185201487 |accessdate=8 July 2015}}</ref><ref name="parliament">{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmselect/cmstnprv/240vii/sp0703.htm |title=Select Committee on Standards and Privileges: Seventh Report |work=House of Commons |date=1 August 1997 |accessdate=8 July 2015}}</ref>
For some years Grylls had acted as a consultant to the lobbying company run by [[Ian Greer]] at the heart of the ''Cash-for-Questions'' inquiry. The [[Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards]], Sir [[Gordon Downey]], stated that Grylls had "seriously misled" the [[Select committee (United Kingdom)|select committee]] on members' interests in 1990 (replaced in 1995 by the [[Standards and Privileges Committee]]) by understating the number of payments he had received for introducing clients to ministers<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/news/07/0704/downey.shtml |title=Cash For Questions - The Downey Report |work=BBC Politics 97 |year=1997 |accessdate=8 July 2015}}</ref> and Grylls' conduct, said Sir Gordon, had fallen "below the standards the House is entitled to expect of its members".<ref name="guardianobit"/><ref name="sleaze-report">{{cite news |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-sleaze-report-five-men-who-fell-below-the-standards-that-parliament-demands-from-an-mp-1248834.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-sleaze-report-five-men-who-fell-below-the-standards-that-parliament-demands-from-an-mp-1248834.html |archive-date=12 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=The sleaze report: Five men who fell below the standards that Parliament demands from an MP |work=[[The Independent]] |date=4 July 1997 |publisher=[[Independent News & Media|INM]] |location=[[London, UK|London]] |issn=0951-9467 |oclc=185201487}}</ref><ref name="parliament">{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmselect/cmstnprv/240vii/sp0703.htm |title=Select Committee on Standards and Privileges: Seventh Report |work=House of Commons |date=1 August 1997 |accessdate=8 July 2015}}</ref>


The Committee concluded that Grylls had "received payments from Mr Greer (though not in cash) which were neither introduction commissions nor fees associated with the Unitary Tax Campaign. It is not possible to conclude that these payments originated from [[Mohammed Al Fayed|Mr Al Fayed]], although Sir Michael actively participated in the Greer lobbying operation. Sir Michael deliberately misled the Select Committee on Members' Interests in 1990 by seriously understating the number of commission payments he had received; and by omitting to inform them of other fees received from Mr Greer. Sir Michael persistently failed to declare his interests in dealings with Ministers and officials over the [[House of Fraser]]. Sir Michael's action in taking a commission payment for introducing a constituent to Mr Greer was unacceptable. There is insufficient evidence to show that Sir Michael solicited business for Mr Greer in expectation of commission payments."<ref name="parliament"/>
The Committee concluded that Grylls had "received payments from Mr Greer (though not in cash) which were neither introduction commissions nor fees associated with the Unitary Tax Campaign. It is not possible to conclude that these payments originated from [[Mohamed Al-Fayed]], although Sir Michael actively participated in the Greer lobbying operation. Sir Michael deliberately misled the Select Committee on Members' Interests in 1990 by seriously understating the number of commission payments he had received; and by omitting to inform them of other fees received from Mr Greer. Sir Michael persistently failed to declare his interests in dealings with Ministers and officials over the [[House of Fraser]]. Sir Michael's action in taking a commission payment for introducing a constituent to Mr Greer was unacceptable. There is insufficient evidence to show that Sir Michael solicited business for Mr Greer in expectation of commission payments."<ref name="parliament"/>


==Other==
==Other==
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[[Category:UK MPs 1992–1997]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1992–1997]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Politicians awarded knighthoods]]
[[Category:British Eurosceptics]]

Revision as of 04:47, 16 January 2024

Sir Michael Grylls
Member of Parliament
for North West Surrey
(Chertsey, 1970–1974)
In office
18 June 1970 – 8 April 1997
Preceded byLionel Heald
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born
William Michael John Grylls

(1934-02-21)21 February 1934
Folkestone, Kent, England
Died7 February 2001(2001-02-07) (aged 66)
England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Sarah Ford
​
(m. 1965)​
Children2; including Bear Grylls
Alma mater
Military service
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch/serviceRoyal Marines

Sir William Michael John Grylls (21 February 1934 – 7 February 2001) was a British Conservative politician. He was implicated in the cash-for-questions affair, a political scandal of the 1990s. He was the father of adventurer and the Scout Association's Chief Scout Bear Grylls.

Education and early career

Grylls was born in Folkestone, Kent, the son of Brigadier William Edward Harvey Grylls OBE, of the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars, and Rachel Elizabeth, daughter of Brigadier General Kempster Kenmure Knapp and a cousin of the journalist and Conservative politician Bill Deedes.[1][2] The Grylls family owned and lived at Winterbourne Zelston House, Blandford, Dorset; the family can be traced back to 17th century Cornwall. He was educated at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. His eyesight was not good enough for the Navy, so he joined the Royal Marines, and saw active service, leaving in 1955, and studying Spanish at the University of Madrid.[3]

He turned his hand to business, setting up a wine importing firm called the 'Costa Brava Company'. His description of some of his products as "Spanish champagne" provoked the ire of both the makers of genuine champagne and its London importers; he was unsuccessfully prosecuted for trading under a false description, but they won a civil action against him for "passing off", i.e. misrepresenting his goods by using someone else's trademark.[3]

From 1959 he served as a councillor on St. Pancras Borough Council, and was elected to the Greater London Council for Westminster and the City of London from 1967 to 1970.

Family

Grylls married Sarah (Sally) Smiles Justice Ford, the daughter of Patricia Ford, Lady Fisher, briefly an Ulster Unionist MP, and cricketer Neville Montagu Ford. Sally is the stepdaughter of Conservative MP Nigel Fisher and the stepsister of Labour MP Mark Fisher. The Gryllses have one daughter, Lara Sarah Grylls, and one son, Edward Michael "Bear" Grylls, the adventurer, TV presenter and the Scout Association’s Chief Scout, who is most recognised as the host of Born Survivor.

Career as Member of Parliament

Grylls was an unsuccessful candidate in the Fulham constituency in both the 1964 and 1966 general elections. At the 1970 general election, he was returned to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Chertsey in Surrey. His seat was abolished in boundary changes, but he was returned to Parliament for the new North West Surrey constituency in the February 1974 general election. He represented this constituency until his retirement at the 1997 election.

Andrew Roth, author of Parliamentary Profiles, in assessing Grylls's ideology, accused him of "opportunistic deviations", for example favouring little state interference with business, but supporting public funds for British Aerospace, which was a large employer in his constituency.[4]

He was knighted in the 1992 New Years Honours List.[5]

Cash for questions

Main article: Cash-for-questions affair

For some years Grylls had acted as a consultant to the lobbying company run by Ian Greer at the heart of the Cash-for-Questions inquiry. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Sir Gordon Downey, stated that Grylls had "seriously misled" the select committee on members' interests in 1990 (replaced in 1995 by the Standards and Privileges Committee) by understating the number of payments he had received for introducing clients to ministers[6] and Grylls' conduct, said Sir Gordon, had fallen "below the standards the House is entitled to expect of its members".[4][7][8]

The Committee concluded that Grylls had "received payments from Mr Greer (though not in cash) which were neither introduction commissions nor fees associated with the Unitary Tax Campaign. It is not possible to conclude that these payments originated from Mohamed Al-Fayed, although Sir Michael actively participated in the Greer lobbying operation. Sir Michael deliberately misled the Select Committee on Members' Interests in 1990 by seriously understating the number of commission payments he had received; and by omitting to inform them of other fees received from Mr Greer. Sir Michael persistently failed to declare his interests in dealings with Ministers and officials over the House of Fraser. Sir Michael's action in taking a commission payment for introducing a constituent to Mr Greer was unacceptable. There is insufficient evidence to show that Sir Michael solicited business for Mr Greer in expectation of commission payments."[8]

Other

Grylls was a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron until his death in 2001; his widow remains an honorary member. In Piers Morgan's Life Stories, Bear Grylls said that his father had a pace-maker fitted in February 2001, but suddenly died of a heart attack two days after his operation while recovering at home.

References

  1. ^ "A thing about Tories and drugs". 22 January 2016.
  2. ^ The Times Law Reports and Commercial Cases, part 1, ed. William Frederick Barry, Times Publishing Co., 1952, p. 468
  3. ^ a b "Obituary: Sir Michael Grylls". The Daily Telegraph. London. 13 February 2001. ISSN 0307-1235. OCLC 49632006.
  4. ^ a b Roth, Andrew (24 February 2001). "Obituary: Sir Michael Grylls". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  5. ^ "No. 52935". The London Gazette. 29 May 1992. p. 9177.
  6. ^ "Cash For Questions - The Downey Report". BBC Politics 97. 1997. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  7. ^ "The sleaze report: Five men who fell below the standards that Parliament demands from an MP". The Independent. London: INM. 4 July 1997. ISSN 0951-9467. OCLC 185201487. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Select Committee on Standards and Privileges: Seventh Report". House of Commons. 1 August 1997. Retrieved 8 July 2015.

Sources

  • Times Guide to the House of Commons, Times Newspapers Limited, 1992 edition.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Chertsey
1970–Feb 1974 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for North West Surrey
Feb 1974–1997 		Constituency abolished
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