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Anthony David Steen
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(born 22 July 1939) is a former British
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
politician and barrister. He was a
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) from 1974 to 2010, and the Chairman of the
Human Trafficking Foundation The Human Trafficking Foundation is a London-based charity founded by the Conservative Party politician and former Member of Parliament, Anthony Steen. Tamara Barnett runs the NGO and Rachel Smith runs the London Project and National Network Coordi ...
. Having represented
Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-so ...
in Devon since 1997, he was previously MP for
South Hams South Hams is a local government district on the south coast of Devon, England. Services divide between those provided by its own Council headquartered in Totnes, and those provided by Devon County Council headquartered in the city of Exete ...
from 1983, and had also been the MP for
Liverpool Wavertree Liverpool Wavertree is a borough constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1997 and every election since has been won by a Labour Party candidate. An earlier constituency of the same name existed between 1918 and ...
between February 1974 and 1983. From 1992 to 1994, he was
Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...
(PPS) to Peter Brooke MP as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Steen is widely acknowledged as one of the leading figures acting to combat human trafficking in the UK, and in 2015 he was appointed a
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in recognition of his contribution to the fight against
modern slavery Contemporary slavery, also sometimes known as modern slavery or neo-slavery, refers to institutional slavery that continues to occur in present-day society. Estimates of the number of enslaved people today range from around 38 million to 46 mil ...
. In February 2016, Steen and Baron Randall of Uxbridge were appointed Special Envoys on modern slavery to the
Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...
.


Early life

Anthony David Steen was born in July 1939 to Stephen Nicholas Steen (formerly Stein), one time Chairman and President of
Smith & Nephew Smith & Nephew plc, also known as Smith+Nephew, is a British multinational medical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Watford, England. It is an international producer of advanced wound management products, arthroscopy products, ...
, and Jacqueline Annette, daughter of William (formerly Wolko or Woolf) Slavouski, a Russian fur and skin trader. He attended
Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...
and
University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...
where he gained an
LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
. He became a
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...
in 1962. Steen worked at the Bernhard Baron Settlement as a youth club leader with Sir Basil Henriques, an East London magistrate, from 1959 to 1967. Whilst at the Settlement, in 1964, he founded Task Force, an organisation to enable young people to help the elderly, and served as its Director from 1964 to 1968, employing 50 full-time staff. By 1967, Task Force had recruited 15,000 young volunteers, in their teens and twenties, from across London to help with over 7,000 vulnerable elderly and lonely people living within the 32 London boroughs. They offered practical work such as gardening, shopping, redecorating. Task Force worked with the majority of London boroughs and its units have, over the years, since been assimilated either within those local authorities' budgets or joined forces with existing NGOs working with the elderly. The Task Force Trust was launched in 1974 to raise additional money for youth volunteering. he Trust continues to exist and is presently funding projects which link asylum-seekers with local communities. In 1963, Sir John Foster, then MP for Northwich, highlighted Steen's work in an Adjournment Debate in the House of Commons. As a result,
Christopher Chataway Sir Christopher John Chataway (31 January 1931 – 19 January 2014) was a British middle- and long-distance runner, television news broadcaster, and Conservative politician. Education He was born in Chelsea, London, the son of James Denys ...
MP, a junior minister for education (from 1962 to 1964), offered government funding for Task Force. The subsequent government, under Prime Minister
Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...
, asked Steen to head up a national equivalent to Task Force. The Young Volunteer Force Foundation (YVFF) was launched in 1968 at 10 Downing Street, with the object of recruiting young people throughout the UK to tackle community and social problems, to encourage altruism, promote people to care for those less fortunate than themselves. YVFF employed around 100 young people. The Chairman was
Selwyn Lloyd John Selwyn Brooke Lloyd, Baron Selwyn-Lloyd, (28 July 1904 – 18 May 1978) was a British politician. Born and raised in Cheshire, he was an active Liberal as a young man in the 1920s. In the following decade, he practised as a barrister and s ...
MP, a former Chancellor and Foreign Secretary, and the Vice-Chairmen were
Jo Grimond Joseph Grimond, Baron Grimond, (; 29 July 1913 – 24 October 1993), known as Jo Grimond, was a British politician, leader of the Liberal Party for eleven years from 1956 to 1967 and again briefly on an interim basis in 1976. Grimond was a lo ...
MP, Leader of the Liberal Party, and
Douglas Houghton Arthur Leslie Noel Douglas Houghton, Baron Houghton of Sowerby, (11 August 1898 – 2 May 1996) was a British Labour politician. He was the last British Cabinet minister born in the 19th century. After he retired in 1967, every Cabinet ministe ...
MP, Chairman of the Labour Party. Projects were launched in England, Scotland and Wales, resulting in greater community involvement and social awareness. The Young Volunteer Force was subsequently renamed the Community Development Foundation. Steen was its first Director, serving from 1968 to 1974. It was the largest organisation of its kind, and attracted over £1 million of government grant annually. In 1981, Miles Copeland, Manager of the Police Pop Group, invited Steen to be Chairman of the Outlandos Trust, a charity funded by Police concerts. It provided musical instruments for musically gifted but underprivileged young people. The Trust distributed over £180,000 worth of musical instruments. In 1978, Steen set up 'Thatcher's', a fund-raising tearoom in Liverpool, which was opened by Margaret Thatcher, then Leader of the Opposition. Run by the local Conservative association, it raised money for local charities. From 1991 to 2010, Steen was a Trustee of the Dartington International Summer School, having been an aspiring young pianist. From 1993 to 2012, he was a trustee of Education Extra, a charity set up by Lord Young of Dartington to promote after-school activities in areas of urban deprivation.


Legal career

Steen was a pupil in Heathcote Williams QC, Leonard Caplan QC Chambers, and was offered a tenancy by Sir John Foster MP QC in his Hare Court Chambers. He was called to the Bar in 1962 (Gray's Inn) and practised as a Barrister in landlord and tenant and common law from 1962 to 1974. He worked on the
Court Martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
's Defence Counsel for the
Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
from 1964 to 1968, lectured in law for the Council of Legal Education, 1964–67, and acted for the National Union of Headteachers from 1968 to 1972. He championed pro-bono legal advice at the Mary Ward Advice Centre. In 1970–71, he served as an adviser to federal and provincial Canadian governments on unemployment and youth issues. He retired from the Bar in 1983.


Parliamentary career

Steen served as Member of Parliament for Liverpool Wavertree from February 1974 to 1983, and for Totnes from 1983 to 2010 (South Hams 1983 to 1997). In the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
, Steen served as a member of the Select Committee on Immigration and Race Relations (1975–79), as Vice-Chairman of the Select Committee on Social Services (1979–81) and subsequently as a member of that committee (1990–95), as Vice-Chairman of the Select Committee on the Environment (1983–85), and subsequently as a member of that committee (1991–94), as Chairman of the Urban and Inner City Committee (1987–92), as a member of the European Scrutiny Committee (1997-2010). He was also Chairman of the group of Conservative MPs elected in the 1974 general elections, and chaired the Conservative backbench committees on youth and young children (1976–79) and urban affairs and new towns (1979–83), and served as Chairman of the Conservative Deregulation Committee (1993–97) and of the West Country Members’ Group (1992–94). He was also Vice Chairman of the All-Party Fisheries Committee (1997-2010), Chairman of the All-Party Group on Trafficking of Women and Children (2006–10), Chairman of the backbench Sane Planning Group (1987–92), and a member of the Parliamentary Population and Development Group (1987–92). He was elected by Conservative MPs as Secretary of the Conservative Backbench
1922 Committee The 1922 Committee, formally known as the Conservative Private Members' Committee, is the parliamentary group of the Conservative Party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The committee, consisting of all Conservative backbench member ...
(2001–10). From 1992 to 1994, Steen served as
Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...
(PPS) to the Rt Hon Peter Brooke MP when the latter was Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in government of Prime Minister
John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...
. In 1985, Steen piloted the Dartmoor Commons Bill through Parliament. In 1993–94, his three Ten Minute Rule Bills on deregulation contributed to the Major government's Deregulation Initiative. In 1994, he initiated a Ten Minute Rule Bill, the French Language Bill, which proposed to ban the use of words of French origin in the UK, to 'highlight the bizarre situation', as he put it, whereby the French National Assembly and Senate had recently passed legislation banning the use of English words and expressions, such 'software', 'tee-shirt' and 'hamburger', in France. A 'tongue in cheek' initiative, it would have been administered by traffic wardens. In 2000, he initiated a Private Member's Bill on urban regeneration and protection of the countryside. In his role as chairman of the
All-Party Parliamentary Group An all-party parliamentary group (APPG) is a grouping in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that is composed of members of parliament from all political parties, but have no official status within Parliament. Description and functions All-party ...
on the Trafficking of Women and Children, Steen did much to raise awareness of the scourge of
human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
in the UK.. In February 2010, Steen saw his Private Member's Bill to establish a national Anti-Slavery Day adopted by the House of Commons, as the Anti-Slavery Day Act. Since then there have been two annual events to mark Anti-Slavery Day - on 18 October each year - and to raise awareness of the issue of human trafficking in the UK. In 2011, activities took place across the country, including a reception at 10 Downing Street to mark the occasion, hosted by Prime Minister
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
, whilst the inaugural Human Trafficking Foundation Media Awards, when the Commons Speaker and Home Secretary give awards to journalists, broadcasters and film makers in recognition of their fight to end slavery, took place at Westminster. Viewed as on the centre-left of the Conservative Party, Steen backed
Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham, (born 2 July 1940), often known as Ken Clarke, is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997 as well as serving as de ...
's three leadership bids in 1997, 2001 and 2005. In 2001, he denounced the supporters of
Iain Duncan Smith Sir George Iain Duncan Smith (born George Ian Duncan Smith; 9 April 1954), often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2003. He was S ...
as 'bigots'. Steen describes himself as a 'Euro-pragmatist' and was in favour of the UK continued membership of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, voting to remain in the June 2016 referendum.


Expenses scandal

In May 2009, Steen was involved in the parliamentary expenses scandal. He was reported by ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'' to have claimed over £87,000 on his constituency mansion which he designated as his second home. Expenses included items for rabbit fencing, tree surgery (his home is surrounded by 500 trees, he also claimed for their inspection,) woodland consultants and bore hole maintenance. As a result, he announced he would not contest the next general election.


Campaign against Human Trafficking

Since 2005, Steen has concentrated on issues related to modern-day slavery and
human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
. In 2006, he established the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Human Trafficking of Women and Children, with the then Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin MP as its first president. He campaigned for the UK to sign the European Convention of Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. In October 2007, he was awarded the Children's Champion Award in recognition of his advocacy of the rights of trafficked children in the UK. In 2010, Steen established the Human Trafficking Foundation, an organisation (of which he is executive chairman) that works with NGOs and charities in the sector combatting human trafficking around the UK.The Foundation has worked with
ECPAT UK ECPAT International is a global network of civil society organisations that works to end the sexual exploitation of children. It focuses on ending the online sexual exploitation of children, the trafficking of children for sexual purposes, the se ...
and Asociata High Level Group for Children (Romania) to establish 'Parliamentarians Against Human Trafficking', a Europe-wide project to forge a network of parliamentarians across the continent fighting human trafficking. In 2015, Steen served as special envoy to the Prime Minister and to Parliament's Joint Select Committee on the draft Modern Slavery Bill. In February 2016, Steen and Baron Randall of Uxbridge (then Sir John Randall MP) were appointed special envoys on modern slavery to the Mayor of London. In October 2018, Steen was appointed a specialist adviser, representing NGOs and civil society, on a review into the operation of the Modern Slavery Act. In November 2018, he was appointed specialist adviser on modern slavery to the Home Affairs Select Committee in the House of Commons.


Personal life

He married Carolyn Padfield in 1966. She is a
child psychologist Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult developmen ...
. They have a son, Jason, who has a consultancy in London specialising in aviation and is married with two children, living in London, and a daughter, Xanthe, who is a qualified teacher and has worked as a television presenter and writer in London.


External links


Human Trafficking Foundation
website
ePolitix.com – Anthony Steen MP


* ttps://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/anthony_steen/totnes TheyWorkForYou.com – Anthony Steen MP
The Public Whip – Anthony Steen MP
voting record
BBC News – Anthony Steen


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steen, Anthony 1939 births Living people Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Jewish British politicians UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 Alumni of University College London Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Totnes