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'''Derek George Henry Laud''' (born 9 August 1964 in Chelsea) is a British lobbyist, businessman, political adviser, speechwriter, and journalist. He achieved celebrity status during his time as a contestant in the 2005 series of the British [[reality television]] show ''[[Big Brother UK series 6|Big Brother]]''. He is an occasional television and radio broadcaster and newspaper feature writer. Laud is co-founder and the executive director of the New City Initiative, a [[think tank]] and financial lobbying company.<ref name='NCIPeople'>{{cite web|url=http://www.newcityinitiative.org/people.html|title=NCI: Board of Directors|publisher=New City Initiative|accessdate=2012-03-11}}</ref> He is also a partner, partnership secretary, Director of the Advisory Board, and Director of Corporate Affairs at wealth management company Stanhope Capital LLP. Laud was the first black member of the [[Conservative Monday Club]] and first black [[Fox hunting#Hunt staff and officials|master of foxhounds]] in the United Kingdom.
'''Derek George Henry Laud''' (born 9 August 1964 in Chelsea) is a British lobbyist, businessman, political adviser, speechwriter, and journalist. He achieved celebrity status during his time as a contestant in the 2005 series of the British [[reality television]] show ''[[Big Brother UK series 6|Big Brother]]''. He is an occasional television and radio broadcaster and newspaper feature writer. Laud is co-founder and the executive director of the New City Initiative, a [[think tank]] and financial lobbying company.<ref name='NCIPeople'>{{cite web|url=http://www.newcityinitiative.org/people.html|title=NCI: Board of Directors|publisher=New City Initiative|accessdate=2012-03-11}}</ref> He is also a partner, partnership secretary, Director of the Advisory Board, and Director of Corporate Affairs at wealth management company Stanhope Capital LLP. Laud was the first black [[Fox hunting#Hunt staff and officials|master of foxhounds]] in the United Kingdom.


==Early life and education==
==Early life and education==
Line 59: Line 59:
==Career==
==Career==
===Politics===
===Politics===
⚫
Laud became a researcher and special adviser, working for [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament|Members of Parliament]] and government ministers in the mid-1980s. Laud also worked as an advisor to Sir [[Gordon Downey]], the former [[Comptroller and Auditor General|Auditor General]], Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, and Chairman of the Personal Investment Authority.<ref name='NCIPeople'/>
In the early-1980s Laud became the first black member of the [[Conservative Monday Club]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-350541/Big-Brothers-Tory-friend-Camilla.html|title=Big Brother's Tory is 'friend of Camilla'|accessdate=4 November 2012|publisher=Daily Mail|date=3 June 2005}}</ref> In October 1984, Laud produced a Policy Paper under the auspices of the Club's Immigration and Race Relations Committee titled ''The Law, Order and Race Relations''. Laud considered himself on the liberal wing of the Club, and resigned following disagreements about apartheid South Africa.<ref name='DMJun11'>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2002637/John-Bercow-I-liked-I-realised-I-immigrants-referred-to.html|title=DEREK LAUD: I liked Speaker Bercow until I realised I was one of the 'immigrants' about whom he was then so disparaging|accessdate=4 November 2012|publisher=Daily Mail|date=11 June 2011}}</ref> He later wrote that until he became a member of the Club "I hadn’t appreciated just how absurdly nasty this fringe group of lunatics really were".<ref name='DMJun11'/>

⚫
Laud subsequently became a researcher and special adviser, working for [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament|Members of Parliament]] and government ministers in the mid-1980s. Laud also worked as an advisor to Sir [[Gordon Downey]], the former [[Comptroller and Auditor General|Auditor General]], Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, and Chairman of the Personal Investment Authority.<ref name='NCIPeople'/>


In the second half of the 1980s Laud became an aide and speechwriter for then Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]].<ref name=bbc5105/><ref name=nydn5397>{{cite news|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/1997-03-05/local/18031136_1_david-thompson-accident-civil|title=Ex-thatcher Aide Sued In L.i. Crash|accessdate=5 November 2012|publisher=New York Daily News|date=5 March 1997}}</ref> During this period Laud also contributed to speeches for other leading Conservative politicians including [[Alan Clark]] and [[Michael Heseltine]].<ref name=bbc5105>{{cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4311070.stm | title = Big Brother Derek Backs Cameron | date = 5 October 2005 | first = Ollie | last = Stone-Lee | work = BBC News Online | location = London }}</ref><ref name=sc28505>{{cite news|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/black-tory-leads-white-witch-into-the-transparent-big-brother-house-1-714154|title=Black Tory leads white witch into the transparent Big Brother house|accessdate=5 November 2012|publisher=The Scotsman|date=28 May 2005}}</ref> Laud was a campaign aide and fundraiser for then Prime Minister [[John Major]] during the [[United Kingdom general election, 1992|1992 general election]] campaign.<ref name=nydn5397/>
In the second half of the 1980s Laud became an aide and speechwriter for then Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]].<ref name=bbc5105/><ref name=nydn5397>{{cite news|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/1997-03-05/local/18031136_1_david-thompson-accident-civil|title=Ex-thatcher Aide Sued In L.i. Crash|accessdate=5 November 2012|publisher=New York Daily News|date=5 March 1997}}</ref> During this period Laud also contributed to speeches for other leading Conservative politicians including [[Alan Clark]] and [[Michael Heseltine]].<ref name=bbc5105>{{cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4311070.stm | title = Big Brother Derek Backs Cameron | date = 5 October 2005 | first = Ollie | last = Stone-Lee | work = BBC News Online | location = London }}</ref><ref name=sc28505>{{cite news|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/black-tory-leads-white-witch-into-the-transparent-big-brother-house-1-714154|title=Black Tory leads white witch into the transparent Big Brother house|accessdate=5 November 2012|publisher=The Scotsman|date=28 May 2005}}</ref> Laud was a campaign aide and fundraiser for then Prime Minister [[John Major]] during the [[United Kingdom general election, 1992|1992 general election]] campaign.<ref name=nydn5397/>


In the [[United Kingdom general election, 1997|1997 general election]], Laud was selected as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for [[Tottenham (UK Parliament constituency)|Tottenham]], a constituency with a large non-white population that had been represented by black [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] MPs since [[United Kingdom general election, 1987|1987]], but stepped down shortly before the election citing "business reasons".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/bernie-grants-foe-faces-deselection-1274236.html|title=Bernie Grant's foe faces deselection|accessdate=4 November 2012|publisher=The Independent|date=22 March 1997}}</ref> The ''Daily Telegraph'' reported that Laud had withdrawn his candidacy due to a conviction for [[drink driving]] in the United States.<ref name='TelegAug01'>{{cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1337240/Dinner-guests-whose-testimony-will-count.html|title=Dinner guests whose testimony will count|publisher=''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''|author=Tara Wormesley and Peter Foster|accessdate=2012-03-11|date=2001-08-13}}</ref> Laud was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, failure to keep right and driving without a licence in the August 1996 incident. Three people in a car struck by Laud suffered personal injuries.<ref name='NYDNMar97'>{{cite web|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/1997-03-05/local/18031136_1_david-thompson-accident-civil|title=Ex-thatcher Aide Sued In L.i. Crash|publisher=''[[New York Daily News]]''|author=Debbie Tuma|accessdate=2012-03-11|date=1997-03-05}}</ref>
In the [[United Kingdom general election, 1997|1997 general election]], Laud was selected as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for [[Tottenham (UK Parliament constituency)|Tottenham]], a constituency with a large non-white population that had been represented by black [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] MPs since [[United Kingdom general election, 1987|1987]], but stepped down shortly before the election citing "business reasons".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/bernie-grants-foe-faces-deselection-1274236.html|title=Bernie Grant's foe faces deselection|accessdate=4 November 2012|publisher=The Independent|date=22 March 1997}}</ref> The ''Daily Telegraph'' reported that Laud had withdrawn his candidacy due to a conviction for [[drink driving]] in the United States.<ref name='TelegAug01'>{{cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1337240/Dinner-guests-whose-testimony-will-count.html|title=Dinner guests whose testimony will count|publisher=''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''|author=Tara Wormesley and Peter Foster|accessdate=2012-03-11|date=2001-08-13}}</ref>


===Business===
===Business===
In the mid-1980s Laud worked for Strategy Network International (SNI), a lobbying company linked with apartheid South Africa and [[UNITA]], the Angolan armed opposition group. Laud recommended the recruitment of Conservative Members of Parliament [[Michael Colvin]] and [[Neil Hamilton]] as consultants for SNI.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/the-attack-on-sleaze-how-apartheid-regime-set-out-to-woo-tories-patricia-wynn-davies-tells-the-story-of-the-firm-which-gave-mps-a-south-african-perspective-1444979.html|title=The Attack on Sleaze: How apartheid regime set out to woo Tories: Patricia Wynn Davies tells the story of the firm which gave MPs a South African perspective|accessdate=5 November 2012|publisher=The Guardian|date=26 October 1994}}</ref>
In the mid-1980s Laud worked for Strategy Network International (SNI), a lobbying company linked with apartheid South Africa and [[UNITA]], the Angolan armed opposition group.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/the-attack-on-sleaze-how-apartheid-regime-set-out-to-woo-tories-patricia-wynn-davies-tells-the-story-of-the-firm-which-gave-mps-a-south-african-perspective-1444979.html|title=The Attack on Sleaze: How apartheid regime set out to woo Tories: Patricia Wynn Davies tells the story of the firm which gave MPs a South African perspective|accessdate=5 November 2012|publisher=The Guardian|date=26 October 1994}}</ref>


During the late-1980s Laud worked in private equity finance for [[John Lionel Beckwith|John Beckwith]], and was a director of numerous companies owned and controlled by the Pacific Group.
During the late-1980s Laud worked in private equity finance for [[John Lionel Beckwith|John Beckwith]], and was a director of numerous companies owned and controlled by the Pacific Group.

Revision as of 09:19, 22 November 2012

Derek Laud
Born
Derek George Henry Laud

(1964-08-09) August 9, 1964 (age 60)
London, United Kingdom
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
EducationFalconbrook House School
Occupation(s)Speechwriter, Lobbyist
EmployerStanhope Capital
Known forBig Brother
Political partyConservatives
Parent(s)Lyn and Samuel Laud[1]
WebsiteBlack and Blue - Derek Laud's blog

Derek George Henry Laud (born 9 August 1964 in Chelsea) is a British lobbyist, businessman, political adviser, speechwriter, and journalist. He achieved celebrity status during his time as a contestant in the 2005 series of the British reality television show Big Brother. He is an occasional television and radio broadcaster and newspaper feature writer. Laud is co-founder and the executive director of the New City Initiative, a think tank and financial lobbying company.[2] He is also a partner, partnership secretary, Director of the Advisory Board, and Director of Corporate Affairs at wealth management company Stanhope Capital LLP. Laud was the first black master of foxhounds in the United Kingdom.

Early life and education

Derek Laud was born on 9 August 1964 in the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea, London. His parents, Lyn and Samuel Laud, had emigrated to the United Kingdom from Jamaica in the late 1950s.[1] Laud's mother was a nurse and his father left the family when Laud was eight.[1]

As a child Laud became close to two middle aged sisters, Anne and Cecily Meehan, and went to live with them in Clapham following a breakdown in his relationship with his mother as a result of his revealing to her that he was homosexual at the age of 14; Laud had known that he was gay since he was eight.[1] Laud later reconciled with his mother after a near 20 year estrangement.[1] Anne Meehan was deputy headmistress of Falconbrook House School in Clapham, which Laud attended, and Cecily worked as a child psychologist. In an article for the Daily Mail in 2007 Laud described the sisters' importance in his life, and how he consults them on every major decision.[1]

Career

Politics

Laud became a researcher and special adviser, working for Conservative Members of Parliament and government ministers in the mid-1980s. Laud also worked as an advisor to Sir Gordon Downey, the former Auditor General, Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, and Chairman of the Personal Investment Authority.[2]

In the second half of the 1980s Laud became an aide and speechwriter for then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.[3][4] During this period Laud also contributed to speeches for other leading Conservative politicians including Alan Clark and Michael Heseltine.[3][5] Laud was a campaign aide and fundraiser for then Prime Minister John Major during the 1992 general election campaign.[4]

In the 1997 general election, Laud was selected as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Tottenham, a constituency with a large non-white population that had been represented by black Labour MPs since 1987, but stepped down shortly before the election citing "business reasons".[6] The Daily Telegraph reported that Laud had withdrawn his candidacy due to a conviction for drink driving in the United States.[7]

Business

In the mid-1980s Laud worked for Strategy Network International (SNI), a lobbying company linked with apartheid South Africa and UNITA, the Angolan armed opposition group.[8]

During the late-1980s Laud worked in private equity finance for John Beckwith, and was a director of numerous companies owned and controlled by the Pacific Group.

In 1992 Laud co-founded the lobbying company Ludgate Laud with Michael Colvin.[9] In 1996 Laud acquired part of Ludgate Laud with an annual fee income of around £500,000 from the public relations company Ludgate Communications.[10]

Laud is a partner, partnership secretary, Director of the Advisory Board, and Director of Corporate Affairs at wealth management company Stanhope Capital LLP.[11]

Laud is a co-founder and the executive director of New City Initiative, a think tank and financial lobbying company.[2]

Media appearances

Big Brother

Laud was a contestant on Big Brother 2005, the sixth series of the British reality television series Big Brother, in which a number of contestants live in an isolated house trying to avoid being evicted by the public.[12][13] Laud was the tenth person to be evicted from the Big Brother House after losing in a head-to-head with Eugene Sully.[14]

Other

Laud makes regular appearances on radio and television, appearing regularly on Sky News, The Alan Titchmarsh Show and BBC Radio 5 Live. Laud appeared on a charity edition of the television quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? on 17 September 2005, partnering Edwina Currie.[15] Laud appeared on the BBC television discussion programme Question Time in November 2005.[16][17] He has also appeared as a guest on Graham Norton's The Bigger Picture.

Laud is a feature writer for The Mail on Sunday.

Personal life

An enthusiastic fox hunter, Laud was made Master of Foxhounds for the New Forest Hunt in 1999, becoming the first black master of foxhounds in the United Kingdom.[18][19]

Laud is an advocate for the gambling addiction charity GamCare[20] and the dog protection charity Dogs Trust, the latter of which was his chosen charity when he appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.[21]

Laud has a wide circle of friends in the Conservative Party. In 2001, he provided an alibi for his friends Neil and Christine Hamilton when they were falsely accused of sexual assault.[7][22]

Laud's nickname is "Golly", in reference to his collection of Robertson's jam golliwoggs.[23] Laud was reported to have been writing his memoirs in September 2005.[23]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Derek Laud (6 February 2007). "My two mothers...and how they saved my life by Big Brother's Derek Laud". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 11 March 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ a b c "NCI: Board of Directors". New City Initiative. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  3. ^ a b Stone-Lee, Ollie (5 October 2005). "Big Brother Derek Backs Cameron". BBC News Online. London.
  4. ^ a b "Ex-thatcher Aide Sued In L.i. Crash". New York Daily News. 5 March 1997. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  5. ^ "Black Tory leads white witch into the transparent Big Brother house". The Scotsman. 28 May 2005. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  6. ^ "Bernie Grant's foe faces deselection". The Independent. 22 March 1997. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  7. ^ a b Tara Wormesley and Peter Foster (13 August 2001). "Dinner guests whose testimony will count". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 March 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ "The Attack on Sleaze: How apartheid regime set out to woo Tories: Patricia Wynn Davies tells the story of the firm which gave MPs a South African perspective". The Guardian. 26 October 1994. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  9. ^ "Obituary: Michael Colvin". The Guardian. 25 February 2000. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  10. ^ Rebecca Dowman (12 June 1996). "NEWS: Ludgate Laud splits in two as Laud goes solo". PR Week UK (via Brand Republic). Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  11. ^ "Stanhope Capital: The Stanhope Team". Stanhope Capital. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  12. ^ "Millions tune into Big Brother 6". BBC News. 28 May 2005. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  13. ^ "Vote me out... so that I can stay!". Daily Mail. 29 May 2005. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  14. ^ "Big Brother boot for Derek Laud". BBC News. 5 August 2005. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  15. ^ "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?: Celebrity Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?". BFI. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  16. ^ "This week's panel". BBC News. 16 November 2005. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  17. ^ "Housemate attacks Makosi decision". BBC News. 18 November 2005. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  18. ^ "Derek Laud; Melvyn Bragg; Harry Enfield; PJ Harvey; Ivan Massow; Simon Bates; Paula Hamilton; Gary Bushell; What do all these people have in common? They support hunting". The Independent. 18 July 1999. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  19. ^ "Black woman is new face of the hunt". The Telegraph. 4 September 2003. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  20. ^ "Charities 'need to inform donors about trusteeships'". Capital Society. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  21. ^ "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?". Locate TV. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  22. ^ McVeigh, Karen (3 February 2005). "£100,000 win for libelled Hamiltons". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 13 March 2005.
  23. ^ a b Derek Laud (2009-18-01). "Derek Laud: My nickname is Golly, but I don't insist on it". The Independent. Retrieved 2012-03-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) Cite error: The named reference "Ind09" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).


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