A Chief of Police (also known as Police Chief or sometimes shortened to just Chief) is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternative titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable. In contrast to a US Sheriff, who is generally elected by the voters of a county, except in the states of Rhode Island and Hawaii,^[1] a Chief of Police is usually a municipal employee who owes his or her allegiance to a city or town. Some states have both an appointed and an elected Chief of Police (Louisiana). In some jurisdictions, the head of the police commission is the leader of the police and holds a position analogous or similar to the one described here, in this case, he or she is referred to as Commissioner. The New York City Police Department has both a Police Commissioner and a Chief, formerly called the Chief Inspector, now called the Chief of Department. In Louisiana, a Chief of Police may serve as the Chief of Police, Marshal, and Constable for a city. The fraternal organization International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) is an organization often associated with many Chiefs of Police.

Duties[link]

Municipal ordinances dictate the scope of authority a chief possesses and limits them in the abilities of commanding. The following list is a general sense of the actions and responsibilities held by any chief of police.

• Oversight of a department's totality of operation and budgeting.
• Oversight of officers.
  • Limited disciplinary actions to be addressed on infractions of policy, rules, regulations, laws or ordinances.^[2]
  • Full dismissal or heavy sanctioning of officer duty varying by municipal ordinance.
  • Promotion and rank placement of officers.
• Patrol, investigating, and other duties performed by officers.
• Production and development of department policies and regulations.
• Upkeep and updating of department equipment such as police vehicles, firearms, communications equipment and uniforms.^[3]
• Attending community events and council meetings to give briefings on department conditions or other undisclosed information vital to municipal operation and well being.
  • Reporting to the municipality's mayor or city director regarding operations (and dismissal of officers for misconduct varying by municipal ordinance).
  • Reporting to the municipality's board of directors.

Canada[link]

In the province of Ontario, Canada a Chief of Police must be a sworn police officer and therefore have completed training at the Ontario Police College or have served a probationary period with another recognized police force (such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's Academy known as "Depot"). This requirement is legislated in the Police Services Act of Ontario. The legislation states in Section 2 that a Chief of Police is a Police Officer. Section 44.2 of the PSA defines the training requirements. There was a case of the Guelph, Ontario Police Department where a human resources manager was promoted to the position of Deputy Chief, but was required to complete training at the OPC. The candidate is selected by a Police Services Board.

United States[link]

Many state constitutions require every county to have a sheriff; some make no provision for this position to be eliminated even in the case of the formation of a Consolidated city–county or "metropolitan government". In this case, a decision must be made about how to divide the powers between the county sheriff and the city's chief of police. The usual compromise allows the chief of police to exercise law enforcement jurisdiction and to give the sheriff and his or her deputies authority over jails and the serving of civil papers. An alternative and lesser-used solution is to make the office of sheriff a purely ceremonial one. One other solution, an example of which is seen in the case of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, is to provide for the sheriff to simultaneously serve as the chief of police, thus remaining as the chief law enforcement officer of the county.

The police chief of a small town may be the only paid employee of the police department and have a staff consisting only of volunteers when available. Conversely the police chief of a major city may have thousands or in the case of very large cities such as New York, tens of thousands of sworn officers. Further than that they will have thousands more civilian employees under his or her command including operators, secretaries, and unsworn peace officers. It is obvious that the qualifications and skills required to be a police chief vary widely. Another important consideration is how overtly a police department is influenced by politics which varies greatly from one jurisdiction to another. Increasingly, all U.S. law enforcement officers including small-town police chiefs and their charges are being required to meet at least minimum levels of professional training.

See also[link]

• Chief police officer, a British title
• Constable

References[link]

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2011)

Jonathan Cyril, better known by his stage name Lil Jojo, is a juvenile Nigerian Hip hop artist and child rapper.

Early life[link]

Jonathan Cyril was born in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna, Kaduna State, the fourth child in a family of five. His father died when he was very young and his mother was left to bring up her three sons and two daughters on her own with a very meagre income. From an early age it was clear to his relatives that he was a very talented musician, but there was no spare money in the disadvantaged family’s income to give him any music lessons. This prompted his family to send him along with a family friend who worked as a DJ to a nightclub. Because he was with the DJ, he was allowed in even though he was a minor. At first people scoffed at the idea that there was a young boy in the nightclub, but they soon came over their disillusions when the DJ put Jonathan up on the stage. He quickly impressed the audience by miming and mouthing the words to the songs the DJ played. His success at the nightclub inspired him to become a rapper. While attending school he began to write his own songs.^[1] To broaden his horizons, his family sent him and his brothers away to Abuja, the capital of Nigeria where he studied at secondary school. While attending school he began to write his own songs. It was in Abuja that he began to attempt to break into the highly competitive Nigerian music industry. He had no success after many attempts. His only choice was either to quit music or to move to Lagos the largest city in Nigeria, where the opportunities were greater.^[2] After finishing school, Jonathan did just this and moved to Lagos. Unike in Abuja, Lil Jojo gained instant success in Lagos. Soon after he arrived, he was signed onto the KUF Entertainment recording label.

Career[link]

In 2009, Jonathan Cyril, now known by his stage name of Lil’ Jojo, released his debut single named Gini, which quickly became a smash hit, topping many charts around Nigeria and the surrounding region. The music video for the song became a viral hit, spreading around the world as far as Australia and Thailand, and securing a fan base for the rapper in these countries. This song cemented Lil Jojo’s fame and brought him to prominence on the naija music scene. In 2010, Lil Jojo launched into a series of collaborations with little known artists Suteflute and the two-man band Paperboyz. Together they wrote and recorded three songs: Rep Naija, Lavish Life and It Is Us. As of March 2011, the music videos for these songs are yet to be released. In March 2011, Lil Jojo released a new single entitled Where My Money featuring Monkeypee. He also announced his debut album entitled Naija Factor. The album will have 13 tracks and include his hit song Gini.^[3]

References[link]

Jennifer Jones
in Love is a Many Splendored Thing (1955)
Born	Phylis Lee Isley (1919-03-02)March 2, 1919 Tulsa, Oklahoma
Died	December 17, 2009(2009-12-17) (aged 90) Malibu, California
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1939-1974
Spouse	Robert Walker (m.1939-1945; divorced) David O. Selznick (m.1949-1965; his death) Norton Simon (m.1971-1993; his death)

Jennifer Jones (March 2, 1919 - December 17, 2009) was an American Oscar-winning actress during the Hollywood golden years. Jones, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1943 The Song of Bernadette, was also nominated four-times for Academy Awards. She married three times; most notably to film producer David O. Selznick.

Jones, who starred in more than 20 films over a thirty year career, semi-retired from acting following the death of her husband, David O. Selznick, in 1965. In 1980, she founded the Jennifer Jones Simon Foundation For Mental Health And Education after her daughter's suicide. In later life, Jones withdrew from public life to live in quiet retirement with her son and his family in Malibu, California.

Early life[link]

Jones was born Phylis Lee Isley in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the daughter of Flora Mae (née Suber) and Phillip Ross Isley.^[1] An only child, she was raised Roman Catholic and attended Catholic school.^[2] Her parents toured the Midwest in a traveling tent show that they owned and operated. Jones attended Monte Cassino, a girls' school and junior college in Tulsa and then Northwestern University in Illinois, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, before transferring to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1938. It was there that she met and fell in love with fellow acting student Robert Walker. The couple married on January 2, 1939.^[3]

Jones and Walker returned to Tulsa for a 13-week radio program, arranged by Jones' father, and then made their way to Hollywood. Jones landed two small roles, first in a 1939 John Wayne western titled New Frontier, followed by a serial entitled Dick Tracy's G-Men. In these two films, she was billed as 'Phyllis Isley' (Phyllis now spelled with two Ls). However, she failed a screen test for Paramount Pictures and decided to return to New York City.

Career[link]

While Walker found steady work in radio programs, Isley worked part-time modeling hats for the Powers Agency while looking for possible acting jobs. When she learned of auditions for the lead role in Claudia, Rose Franken’s hit play, she presented herself to David O. Selznick’s New York office but fled in tears after what she thought was a bad reading. Selznick, however, overheard her audition and was impressed enough to have his secretary call her back. Following an interview, she was signed to a seven-year contract.

She was carefully groomed for stardom and given a new name: Jennifer Jones. Director Henry King was impressed by her screen test as Bernadette Soubirous for The Song of Bernadette (1943) and she won the coveted role over hundreds of applicants. In 1944, on her 25th birthday, Jones won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Bernadette Soubirous. That year, Jones' friend, Ingrid Bergman, was also a Best Actress nominee for her work in For Whom the Bell Tolls. Jones apologized to Bergman, who replied, "No, Jennifer, your Bernadette was better than my Maria." Jones presented the Best Actress Oscar the following year to Bergman for Gaslight.^[4]

in Love Letters (1945)

Over the next two decades, Jones appeared in a wide range of roles selected by Selznick. Her dark beauty and sensitive nature appealed to audiences and she projected a variable range. Her initial saintly image — as shown in her first starring role — was a stark contrast three years later when she was cast as a provocative bi-racial woman in Selznick’s controversial film Duel in the Sun (1946). Other notable films included Since You Went Away (1944), Love Letters (1945), Cluny Brown (1946), Portrait of Jennie (1948), Madame Bovary (1949), We Were Strangers (1949), Gone to Earth (1950), Carrie (1952), Ruby Gentry (also 1952), Indiscretion of an American Wife (1953), Beat the Devil (1953), Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), Good Morning Miss Dove (also 1955), The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) starring opposite Gregory Peck and A Farewell to Arms (1957). Her leading men during this period included Charles Boyer, Joseph Cotten, Gregory Peck, John Garfield, Charlton Heston, Laurence Olivier, Montgomery Clift, Humphrey Bogart, William Holden, Robert Stack, John Gielgud, Rock Hudson, and Jason Robards. The portrait of Jones for the film Portrait of Jennie was painted by Robert Brackman. She inspired the character Dolores González in Raymond Chandler's novel "The Little Sister" (1949).

Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6429 Hollywood Blvd.

Her last big-screen appearance came in the spectacular disaster film The Towering Inferno (1974), in which she danced with Fred Astaire before a fire threatened partygoers in a new San Francisco skyscraper who were celebrating its official opening as tallest building in the world. Her exit from the picture was also the most sympathetic when, after helping to assist two children to escape the disaster, her character fell 110 stories to her death from a scenic elevator on the outside of the building which was derailed following an explosion. Her touching performance earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Scenes from early on in the movie showed paintings lent to the production from the Norton Simon art gallery. Simon was her husband at the time the movie was produced.

Personal life[link]

Jones and second husband David O. Selznick in 1957

Jones's first marriage produced two sons, Robert Walker, Jr. (born April 15, 1940; the only one of Jones's children who would not predecease her), and Michael Walker (March 13, 1941 – December 27, 2007). Both later became actors. Jones had an affair with film producer David O. Selznick, which eventually led to her separation from Walker in November 1943 and divorce in June 1945.

Jones married Selznick on July 13, 1949, a union which lasted until his death on June 22, 1965. After his death, she semi-retired from acting. According to media reports, Jones attempted suicide in November 1967 after hearing of the death of close friend Charles Bickford. She was found unconscious at the base of a cliff overlooking Malibu Beach; she was hospitalized in a coma before eventually recovering.^[5][6] Her daughter, Mary Jennifer Selznick (1954–1976), committed suicide by jumping from a 20th-floor window in Los Angeles on May 11, 1976. This led to Jones's interest in mental health issues. In 1980, she founded the Jennifer Jones Simon Foundation For Mental Health And Education. The Foundation pledged $400,000 to be used exclusively for the world renowned Mary Jennifer Selznick Workshop Program, named in honor of Jones's late daughter.

On May 29, 1971, Jones married multi-millionaire industrialist, art collector and philanthropist Norton Simon, whose son Robert had committed suicide in 1969. The marriage took place aboard a tug 5 miles off the English coast, and was conducted by Unitarian minister Eirion Phillips.^[3] Years before, Simon had attempted to buy the portrait of her used in the film Portrait of Jennie. Simon later met Jones at a party hosted by fellow industrialist and art collector Walter Annenberg. Norton Simon died in June 1993. Four years before his death, Simon resigned as President of Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena and Jennifer Jones-Simon was appointed Chairman of the Board of Trustees, President and Executive Officer. In 1996, she began working with architect Frank Gehry and landscape designer Nancy Goslee Power on renovating the museum and gardens. She remained active as the director of the Norton Simon Museum until 2003 when she was given emeritus status.

Jones was a breast cancer survivor. Actress Susan Strasberg, who would die of the disease in 1999 and was then married to actor Christopher Jones, named her own daughter Jennifer Robin Jones in the older actress's honor.

Death[link]

Jones enjoyed a quiet retirement, living with her son Robert Walker, Jr. and his family in Malibu, for the last six years of her life. She granted no interviews and rarely appeared in public. She died of natural causes on Thursday, December 17, 2009, aged 90.^[7] She was cremated at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Glendale.^[8]

Filmography[link]

Further reading[link]

• Epstein, Edward (1995). Portrait of Jennifer. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-74056-3. 

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jennifer Jones

• Jennifer Jones at the Internet Movie Database
• Jennifer Jones - Tribute site
• Jennifer Jones - Daily Telegraph obituary
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Jones, Jennifer

The Right Honourable Andrew Mitchell MP
Secretary of State for International Development
Incumbent
Assumed office 12 May 2010
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Douglas Alexander
Shadow Secretary of State for International Development
In office 7 May 2005 – 11 May 2010
Leader	Michael Howard David Cameron
Preceded by	Alan Duncan
Succeeded by	Douglas Alexander
Member of Parliament for Sutton Coldfield
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 June 2001
Preceded by	Norman Fowler
Majority	17,005 (33.6%)
Member of Parliament for Gedling
In office 11 June 1987 – 1 May 1997
Preceded by	Philip Holland
Succeeded by	Vernon Coaker
Personal details
Born	(1956-03-23) 23 March 1956 (age 56) Hampstead, United Kingdom
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	Jesus College, Cambridge
Website	Constituency website

The Right Honourable Andrew John Bower Mitchell MP ^[1] (born 23 March 1956) is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sutton Coldfield. He was appointed as Secretary of State for International Development on 12 May 2010,^[2] and as a Privy Counsellor on 13 May 2010.^[3]

A former UN peacekeeper, he has extensive pre-government experience of the developing world, and is the founder of Project Umubano, a Conservative Party social action project in Rwanda and Sierra Leone in central and west Africa, launched in 2007.^[4]

A former President of the Cambridge Union and Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party, he became Secretary of State for International Development in 2010. Both in Opposition and Government, he has repeatedly asserted the need for full transparency and value for money in British aid contributions to the developing world, with resources concentrated on the world's poorest and most troubled countries. Those judged now able to support their own citizens, such as Russia, China, Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia, will no longer be eligible to receive aid. He has made the commitment to reach the UN target to spend 0.7 per cent of UK GNI on aid to the developing world by 2013.^[5]

Early life[link]

Andrew Mitchell was born in Hampstead in north London, and is the son of David Mitchell, a former Conservative MP and junior Government minister.

Education[link]

Mitchell was educated at Rugby School, an independent school in the market town of Rugby in Warwickshire. After a short-service commission in the Royal Tank Regiment, he went up to Cambridge University, where he studied History at Jesus College. He was Chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association in the Michaelmas Term of 1977, and the President of the Cambridge Union in 1978.^[6]

Early career[link]

Mitchell served as a United Nations peacekeeper in Cyprus during the 1970s, and went on to work and travel extensively in Africa and Asia.^[7][8] He served in the Royal Tank Regiment of the British Army before joining Lazard, one of the world's largest investment banks, where he worked with British companies seeking large-scale overseas contracts.^[9] He is a Trustee of the E.M. Radiation Research Trust,^[10] which conducts research into radiation emissions, from sites such as mobile phone masts. He was also a Senior Strategy Advisor for Accenture, the management consultancy and technology outsourcing company.

Political career[link]

Mitchell was the only Conservative member of Islington Health Authority (IHA) in north London during the 1980s, and in that capacity, he called among other measures for the IHA to make greater use of competitive tendering in the allocation of service contracts.^[11]

Mitchell entered Parliament at 31 years old, as the MP for Gedling, in Nottinghamshire, between 1987 and 1997, serving in the Commons at the same time as his father. In 1988, under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, he became PPS to William Waldegrave, who was Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. In 1990, he became PPS to John Wakeham, who was Secretary of State for Energy. In 1992, under John Major, he became Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party, and in the same year was appointed as an Assistant Government Whip. In 1993, he became a Government Whip. In 1995, he became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Social Security, a position he held until 1997.

Mitchell lost his Commons seat in Tony Blair's Labour 'landslide' election of 1997, but in 2001, returned to Parliament as the MP for Sutton Coldfield, in Birmingham. He held no shadow ministerial or organisational position under the leadership of Iain Duncan Smith, but in 2003, in the first month of the new leadership of Michael Howard, he became Shadow Minister of State for Economic Affairs, and in 2004, the Shadow Minister of State for Home Affairs, in which his primary brief was police matters.

Shadow Secretary of State for International Development (2005 - 2010)[link]

In May 2005, Mitchell was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for International Development. After Howard's decision to stand down as leader following the 2005 General Election defeat, Mitchell ran the unsuccessful leadership campaign of David Davis, but retained his Shadow Cabinet position under the newly-elected Conservative leader, David Cameron.

Secretary of State for International Development (2010 onwards)[link]

Mitchell was re-elected at the May 2010 general election,^[12] and in the same month became the new Secretary of State for International Development at the Department for International Development (DfID).^[13]

Since the election, he has continued to travel to countries urgently in need of aid. He visited Pakistan during the floods in 2010, travelling across the country to meet flood victims and aid workers, pledged a substantial increase in Britain's aid contribution, and returned the following year, to see for himself the recovery efforts achieved, the many severe challenges the country still faced, and the uses to which Britain's increased aid had been put. He has also visited Haiti (in the Caribbean), to investigate the effects of the earthquake, followed by Somalia (in East Africa) to try to ameliorate some of the worst effects of the famine, and Libya (in North Africa) in 2011, to help ensure that the international provision of food and fuel supplies was increased after the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi. He also spoke to the United Nations General Assembly in 2010 to press the case for much greater support for the developing world, strongly criticised the developed world for failing in its responsibilities towards it, and announced that Britain would double its aid contribution to Pakistan.^[14]

During the ongoing battle of Tripoli, Mitchell said that the UK had learned from Iraq and had laid the groundwork for a post-Gaddafi Libya. While emphasising that the transition should be Libyan-led, he said that Libya's allies had outlined steps to ensure a smooth transition. He added:"We have made clear that there should be no revenge attacks", and that "Libyans have to work together for a new Libya. They should keep in place the sinews of security. The National Transitional Council (NTC) in Benghazi has good informal connections with security officials in Tripoli and has told them: 'You've got a job, please help us keep stability'." He added that "Divisions between the rebels groups are overstated. The way the National Transitional Council has reached out gives us some confidence."^[15]

Spending on projects such as getting more girls into school in Somalia “contributes directly to our security” and should be a source of national pride like the Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee. DfID's budget is rising by more than a third to almost £11billion in 2014-15 as the Coalition aims for a United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of GDP. The aid pledge is controversial among some Conservatives, who say the money would be better spent at home. Mitchell accepted that a smaller aid budget might have meant fewer cuts elsewhere, but insisted that development projects also helped protect Britain. “Our security is not just provided by soldiers and tanks and fighter jets, it is also provided by training the police in Afghanistan, by building up governance structures in the Middle East and by getting girls into school in the Horn of Africa,” he said. “Those things are all part of what makes us safer.”^[16]

Direct involvement with developing world[link]

Whilst still in Opposition, Mitchell visited countries throughout the developing world to establish in detail how aid could be most effectively and fairly delivered. He visited a number of countries in Africa and Asia containing some of the worst poverty in the world, such as Sierra Leone, Ghana, Ethiopia, Chad, Eritrea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, Thailand, Cambodia and Burma (The Republic of the Union of Myanmar). In many of these places, he created video reports detailing local conditions and some of the NGO projects aimed at ameliorating them. Whilst in Burma, Mitchell challenged its Government by raising evidence of systematic human rights abuses in the country, and its continued imprisonment of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. He also emphasised the need to provide rapid and substantial aid to the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.^[17]

[edit] Project Umubano

Mitchell led large groups of Conservative volunteers from a wide range of professions, including doctors, teachers, lawyers and entrepreneurs, in social development projects in Rwanda for three consecutive summers, from 2007 to 2009, as part of Project Umubano, and kept a detailed diary of their activities and experiences.^[18][19] The volunteers focussed on five areas: health, education, justice, the private sector, and a community centre construction project.^[20] In 2008, Mitchell himself taught English to over a thousand Rwandan primary school teachers.^[21]

BBC Gaza Appeal[link]

Mitchell expressed support for the idea of a televised appeal for Gaza on the BBC in 2009, a subject which had aroused much controversy on both sides of the argument. He said that whilst the matter was ultimately for the BBC to decide, "We believe that they should allow the broadcast to proceed so that the British public, who have proved themselves so generous during recent emergencies in the Congo and Burma, can make their own judgement on the validity of the appeal".^[22]

Praise from news presenter Jon Snow[link]

On 1 July 2010, at the end of the Global Poverty Debate in the House of Commons, according to both the verbatim transcript of www.parliament.uk,^[23] and the full video recording of the debate at BBC Democracy Live,^[24] the Minister of State for International Development, Alan Duncan, quoted the Channel 4 news presenter and journalist Jon Snow as having said the previous day that: "Andrew Mitchell is unquestionably the best prepared Secretary of State — nobody has waited longer in the wings and everyone in the sector knows of his commitment to the sector".

Emphasis on aid transparency and contributions 'guarantee'[link]

Both in Opposition, and later as Secretary of State for International Development, Mitchell has repeatedly asserted the need for transparency in aid donations to other countries, with contributions fully accounted for and published, and intends Britain to lead the world in this transparency.^[25] He has made clear that value for money in aid donations are of critical importance and has provided a guarantee that British legislation will be amended to ensure that Britain's aid contributions will be maintained at 0.7% of UK GNI (Gross National Income) by 2013.^[26][27] He has also asked former international envoy and Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown to conduct a review of the UK's response to international humanitarian disasters, such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, to see whether lessons can be learned from them.^[28]

Work as a Member of Parliament[link]

Mitchell has campaigned on a wide range of local issues, from the safety of mobile phone masts to the administration of justice, and has particularly focussed on local development where it appears to adversely affect his constituents. He deals with a wide range of issues for constituents, often dealing directly with government departments, agencies and other organisations on their behalf, and holds regular Advice Sessions for them. He also regularly visits local schools, businesses and voluntary organisations across Sutton Coldfield. He successfully brought about the restoration of Sutton Coldfield Civic Service and introduced the Sutton Coldfield Inter-Schools Debating Competition. He receives over 5,000 letters per year from constituents, and actively supports a number of local charities including Breastfriends, Norman Laud Association, the Sutton Coldfield Branch of the RNLI, Parkinson’s Disease Society, Sutton Coldfield Sea Cadets, Greenacres, and Sutton Coldfield Guiding.^[9]

[edit] Keep Justice Local campaign

In 2002, Mitchell successfully led the Keep Justice Local campaign across his constituency of Sutton Coldfield to safeguard the 50-year-old Courthouse (Magistrates' Court) from imminent closure. He presented a petition signed by over 5,500 constituents, protesting at plans to transfer the Courthouse's work to Birmingham.^[29]

However, once in government Mitchell appeared to have changed his views on the closure of the courthouse after a decision was taken to close it December 2010, although it is not clear that he necessarily did so, as his public statement did not actually endorse the decision that had been taken. He was quoted as saying: "We must now ensure that there's a widespread local discussion about the future of the site and the building. I know that our councillors are already looking at how best we can do this".^[30]

Voting record[link]

In 1994, as MP for Gedling, Mitchell voted in the House of Commons for the restoration of the death penalty, which measure was defeated 383–186.^[31] Between 2001 and 2010, as MP for Sutton Coldfield, his House of Commons voting record shows that he voted for: limiting climate change, Civil Partnerships for gay couples, greater autonomy for schools, a UK Referendum on the EU Lisbon Treaty, the replacement of Trident, the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent Iraq investigation, and limiting pollution from civil aviation. During the same period, he voted against: ID cards, the closure of Post Offices, both 42 days' and 90 days' detention without charge or trial, the DNA database, closer EU integration, the relaxation of gambling laws, Section 28 (although in 1988 he had voted in favour),^[32] employment discrimination against gay people, the legalisation of recreational drugs, a fully elected House of Lords and a ban on fox hunting.^[33][34] He was ranked by the Liberal Democrat Voice (connected to, but not part of, the Liberal Democrat Party) as one of the least authoritarian members of Parliament, scoring 3 out of 100 points for his votes between 2005 - 2010.,^[35] with a joint ranking of 542 out of 619.^[36]

2005 Leadership Contest[link]

Mitchell was the Campaign Manager for David Davis in the 2005 Conservative leadership contest. Davis started the campaign as the widely acknowledged front runner, but delivered a speech to that year's Conservative Party Conference which was described as "uninspiring" by his party supporters and the media. However, referring to a Conference speech by the party's former leader, Mitchell said: "William Hague made a great speech which many people will judge to be better than all the other leadership candidates put together. What that tells you is that being absolutely brilliant at being able to make a speech at conference is not the be-all-and-end-all of leadership. There are other things as well." ^[37]

Although Davis attracted a sizeable vote of party members in the contest, he was defeated by his younger challenger, David Cameron. Despite Davis's defeat, however, Mitchell retained his position in Cameron's new Shadow Cabinet.

Mitchell reaction to Davis resignation[link]

In June 2008, David Davis took a decision to resign both his position as Shadow Home Secretary and his constituency seat, and to immediately stand for re-election, in protest at the Labour Government's proposal to extend detention without trial for terrorist suspects to 42 days. Andrew Mitchell was reported by the media to have met Davis on the House of Commons terrace and was seen to have "looked horrified" when Davis told him of his decision, and to have vigorously argued with him about it. His friends apparently said later that he was "incandescent" at not having been consulted beforehand. Davis allegedly replied: "It's too late — I've already done it", to which Mitchell allegedly responded: "You're nuts".^[38]

[edit] Prize Winner of Westminster Dog of the Year Award

In 2009, Andrew Mitchell won the top prize among Parliamentarians for the Westminster Dog of the Year Award, for his dog Molly. Judges said that Molly, a seven-year old Welsh Springer Spaniel, had an "excellent condition and temperament", that she "stood out particularly because she is the ‘glue’ of her family“, and that Mitchell was "an owner who shows commitment to responsible dog ownership".^[39]

2009 expenses claims[link]

According to The Daily Telegraph newspaper, which first reported the unredacted expenses claims of Members of Parliament, the vast majority of claims made by Mitchell were for office expenses, but there was criticism of him among some of the British media, which reported that he had made a number of small claims for items such as a 'stick of glue' (reportedly costing 13 pence), and other items, that they implied should have been paid from his own pocket.^[40] However, these items appear to have been for official Parliamentary use, and were accepted by the House of Commons Fees Office as legitimate expenses incurred as a result of his Parliamentary work.^{[citation needed]} In contrast to the expenses claims made by a number of other MPs, there were no allegations in The Daily Telegraph or other newspapers that Mitchell had at any time made excessively large claims, had sought to benefit personally from them, or that there had been any impropriety in any of his claims^{[citation needed]}.

Allegations of lobbying on behalf of donors[link]

An article in The Sunday Times newspaper on 30 October 2010, quoted by The Guardian newspaper the following day, claimed that Mitchell had pressured the Foreign Office and colleagues to lobby Ghana (successfully) for the lifting of a trading ban on a cocoa company, Armajaro, which had been a repeated donor to Mitchell's parliamentary office and also a donor to the Conservative Party. Ghana had imposed the ban as the company was believed to have been smuggling cocoa out of the country. However, when questioned by ITV News on 2 November about his role in the case, Mitchell said that he had a duty as a member of the government to respond to the company's requests, as it was registered as a British company, and that the government had a responsibility to promote British trade. He argued that he had seen no evidence that the Ghanaian government's suspicions about the company in question had been substantiated, and that the claim that he had acted improperly on behalf of a party donor was unreasonable, as the company had ceased to donate to both the Conservative Party and his parliamentary office several years earlier.^[41][42]

Allegations of tax avoidance[link]

In 2006, Andrew Mitchell invested funds in privately owned firms implicated in a tax avoidance scheme.^[43] The article in the Daily Telegraph claimed that a subsidiary of DV3 purchased the lease on the Dickins & Jones department store building in central Londonfor £65.1 million and sold it a month later to a partnership controlled by DV3 for £65,100, thus avoiding stamp duty.

Personal life[link]

Mitchell is married to a G.P. and has two children,^[44] and lives in his constituency of Sutton Coldfield and in Islington in north London. His wealth is estimated at £2m.^[45][46]

See also[link]

• Cameron Ministry

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Andrew Mitchell

• Andrew Mitchell MP official constituency website
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
• Voting record at PublicWhip.org
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
• Articles authored at Journalisted
• Profile: Andrew Mitchell BBC News, 10 February 2005
• Pan-African Free Trade Agreement: Helping Africa through Free Trade – Andrew Mitchell talks at the Cato Institute

v t e Cameron cabinet (list) Cameron · Clegg Alexander · Cable · Clarke · Davey · Duncan Smith · Gillan · Gove · Greening · Hague · Hammond · Hunt · Lansley · May · Mitchell · Moore · Osborne · Paterson · Pickles · Spelman · Strathclyde · Warsi Also attending: Letwin · Maude · McLoughlin · Willetts · Young When on agenda: Grieve Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement · Coalition government

v t e Secretary of State for International Development of the United Kingdom Minister of Overseas Development Castle · Greenwood · Bottomley · Prentice · Hart · Wood* · Hart* · Prentice* · Judd* · Hart* · Marten* · Raison* · Patten* · Chalker* Secretary of State for International Development Short · Amos · Benn · Alexander · Mitchell Served as Minister for Overseas Development as a Minister of State at the Foreign Office