Thomas or Tom Geoffrey Sackville (born 26 October 1950) is a British

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 in ...

politician and anti-cultist.

Family and early life

Sackville is the second son of

William Sackville, 10th Earl De La Warr William Herbrand Sackville, 10th Earl De La Warr ( 16 October 1921 – 9 February 1988) was a British peer. He inherited the earldom on 28 January 1976 on the death of his father Herbrand Edward Dundonald Brassey Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr. ...

(died February 1988) and Anne Rachel Devas, and his brother is William Herbrand Sackville, the 11th

Earl De La Warr Earl De La Warr ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1761 for John West, 7th Baron De La Warr. The Earl holds the subsidiary titles of Viscount Cantelupe (1761) in the Peerage of Great Britain, Baron De La Warr ( ...

. Cited in In 1979, he married Catherine Thérèsa Windsor-Lewis, daughter of

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. ...

James Charles Windsor-Lewis. They have two children, Arthur Michael Sackville (born 1983) and Savannah Elizabeth Sackville (born 1986), both adopted. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

and

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, th ...

, and he began his professional career in

merchant banking A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in commo ...

Parliamentary career

Sackville first ran for

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

in the constituency of

Pontypool Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970. Location It is situated on the Afon Lwyd r ...

in the 1979 election, being beaten by Labour's Leo Abse. He served as a

Member of Parliament for Bolton West from the 1983 election until he was defeated by

Ruth Kelly Ruth Maria Kelly (born 9 May 1968) is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton West from 1997 until she stood down in 2010. Previously, she served as the Secretary of State for Transport, ...

in the 1997 election. He held the office of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State between 1992 and 1997, initially for the Department of Health, then as a Home Office minister between 1995 and 1997.

Anti-cult activities

In 1985 he started All-Party Committee Against CultsRegis Dericquebourg
A Case Study: FECRIS
Journal for the Study of Beliefs and Worldviews, 2012/2, p.188–189, and 20 October 2000 he became first chairman of

The Family Survival Trust The Family Survival Trust (FST) is a charity registered in the United Kingdom, established in order to support and offer counselling for members of abusive cults, religions, and similar organizations, and their families members. It evolved out o ...

(formerly Family, Action, Information, Rescue/Resource or FAIR), an anti-cult organisation. In 1997 he ended government funding for the independent research group Information Network Focus on Religious Movements (INFORM), created by sociologist

Eileen Barker Eileen Vartan Barker (born 21 April 1938, in Edinburgh, UK) is a professor in sociology, an emeritus member of the London School of Economics (LSE), and a consultant to that institution's Centre for the Study of Human Rights. She is the chairp ...

. Funds were reinstated in 2000. In his article for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...

'' (2004) he accused INFORM and its president Eileen Barker of "refusing to criticise the worst excesses of

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. Thi ...

leaders", and congratulated the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...

for declining to become a patron of INFORM. The allegations were described by INFORM as unfounded. In 2005 he was elected as vice-president of European Federation of Centres of Research and Information on Sectarianism (FECRIS), an

umbrella organization An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

for anti-cult groups in Europe, and from 2009 he has served as its president. Sackville is the current

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the International Federation of Health Plans. He is also the current chairman of the trustees of the Family Survival Trust.

References

External links

* * 1950 births Living people Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Eton College UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 Younger sons of earls Critics of new religious movements Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Bolton West {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1950s-stub

Family and early life

Parliamentary career

Anti-cult activities

See also

References

External links