Ian Colin Lucas (born 18 September 1960) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, who was the

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 ofte ...

(MP) for

Wrexham, Wales Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the county ...

from

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. He was

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister o ...

for Business and Regulatory Reform in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills from 2009 until Labour's defeat at the 2010 General Election. He did not stand at the 2019 election.

Early life

He was born and brought up in a

council house A council house is a form of British public housing built by local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 a ...

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Millennium Bridge, The Sage, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art ...

, the second son of Colin and Alice Lucas. His father worked as a process engineer in a local factory, apart from serving in the army from 1942–1947 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He attended Greenwell Junior High School on ''Beacon Lough Road '' in Gateshead then Newcastle Royal Grammar School, and won a place at New College,

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

, to study

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

gaining a BA in 1982. He qualified from the College of Law in 1983 and was admitted as a solicitor in 1985. He supports

Sunderland A.F.C. Sunderland Association Football Club (, ) is an English professional football club based in the city of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Formed in 1879, Sunderland play in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club has won six ...

in football.

Professional career

He became a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

practising in London from 1983–6, but moved to

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the county ...

the 1986, specialising in criminal and personal injury law for Percy Hughes and Roberts in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

until 1987. He worked for Lees Moore and Price in

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverp ...

until 1989. He then worked for Roberts Moore Nicholas Jones until 1992 in Wrexham. In 1992 he moved the short distance to

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

working for Dr Crawford, and formed his own practice, Crawford Lucas in 1997. The move was precipitated because of disagreements with his old firm when he had organised protests against cuts in legal aid. He was a partner in Stevens Lucas from 2000–1. After the death of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

in 1997, Ian Lucas represented Trevor Rees-Jones (Diana's bodyguard, and survivor of the crash) in a legal battle with

Mohamed Fayed Mohamed Al-Fayed (; arz, محمد الفايد ; born 27 January 1929) is an Egyptian-born businessman whose residence and chief business interests have been in the United Kingdom since the late 1960s. His business interests include ownership of ...

Political career

In 1986 he joined the Labour Party, and became chairman of the

branch. He was on Gresford Community Council in Wrexham from 1987–91. He contested the traditionally

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...

seat of North Shropshire in the 1997 general election, but was narrowly defeated. He has served as a

school governor In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, school governors are the overseers of a school. In state schools, they have three main functions: *Giving the school a clear vision, ethos and strategic direction *Holding the headteacher to account for the ...

, and on a local hospital board. He was later selected to stand for the UK Parliament in

, and won the seat in

. 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

Bill Rammell William Ernest Rammell (born 10 October 1959) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Harlow from 1997 until 2010, and served as a Minister of State in several departments from 2002. From August 2012 to ...

MP,

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ot ...

for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education. He resigned as PPS on 6 September 2006, due to the refusal by

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

to name a date for stepping down as Prime Minister. Fellow Welsh Labour MPs

Wayne David Wayne David MP (born 1 July 1957) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Caerphilly since 2001. A member of the Labour Party, he was Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party from 1994 to 1998 and a Me ...

and

Mark Tami Mark Richard Tami (born 3 October 1962) is a Welsh Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Alyn and Deeside since 2001. Early life Born in Enfield, north London, Tami was educated at Enfield Grammar School (b ...

resigned on the same day. Lucas was promoted by

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...

in the reshuffle of October 2008, to the role of assistant government whip. He then entered Government as a minister for the first time in the June 2009 reshuffle, becoming

for Business and Regulatory Reform in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and held that post until the Labour government left office in May 2010. He was the shadow minister for the Middle East and Africa. He has served as a member of the Environmental Audit Select Committee and the Transport Select Committee. He has taken an interest in sustainable energy, devolution of powers in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2 ...

, and links with Germany. He is a member of both the

Labour Friends of Israel Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) is a group in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that promotes support for a strong bilateral relationship between Britain and Israel, and seeks to strengthen ties between the British Labour Party and the Isra ...

and the Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East. Despite his constituency voting to leave 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 ...

in the 2016 referendum, Lucas supported a second referendum on the UK's EU membership. He would support remaining in the European Union in the event of such a vote. He supported

Owen Smith Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970) is a former Labour Party politician and subsequently a British lobbyist, who has been the UK government relations director for pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb since 2020. Smith was Member of Parliamen ...

in the failed attempt to replace

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...

in the

2016 Labour Party (UK) leadership election The 2016 Labour Party leadership election was called when a challenge to Jeremy Corbyn as Leader of the Labour Party arose following criticism of his approach to the Remain campaign in the referendum on membership of the European Union and q ...

. Lucas did not stand for re-election at the 2019 general election.

Parliamentary debate about the murder of Nicolas Churton

On the 11 April 2019, in a House of Commons adjournment debate he accused

North Wales police North Wales Police ( cy, Heddlu Gogledd Cymru) is the territorial police force responsible for policing North Wales. Its headquarters are in Colwyn Bay. , the force has 1,510 police officers, 170 special constables, 182 police community support ...

, the probation service, the community rehabilitation company, the

Independent Police Complaints Commission The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was a non-departmental public body in England and Wales responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales. On 8 January 2018, th ...

, and the

Independent Office for Police Conduct The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is a non-departmental public body in England and Wales which, since 8 January 2018, is responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wal ...

of hiding mistakes about incidents that led to the murder of Nicolas Churton. He further alleged that Mark Polin, the Chief Constable for North Wales Police had misled him it.

References

External links

Ian Lucas MP
''official constituency website''
Ian Lucas MP
Welsh Labour Party profile * * ;News articles
BBC apologises in August 2008

Welsh dragon on the Union flag in November 2007

Richard Brunstrom in November 2006

Leaving government in September 2006

Digital TV in June 2006

Death by negligent driving in January 2005

School merger in May 2002

Citizenship in February 2002
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Ian 1960 births Living people People from Gateshead Politicians from Tyne and Wear People from Wrexham Politics of Wrexham People educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne Alumni of New College, Oxford British solicitors Alumni of The University of Law Welsh Labour Party MPs Labour Friends of Israel Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019