Albert Raymond Blackburn (11 March 1915 – 3 November 1991) was a British Labour Party politician who served as

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 ...

for the Birmingham King's Norton and Birmingham Northfield constituencies.

Early life

Blackburn was born on 11 March 1915 in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

(now

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

). He was the son of Dr A. E. Blackburn. He was educated at the

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

Military service

He served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during

World War II 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 opposin ...

. On 21 January 1940, having completed his

officer training A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

at Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the

East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...

as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. He was given the

service number A service number is an identification code used to identify a person within a large group. Service numbers are most often associated with the military; however, they may be used in civilian organizations as well. National identification numbers may ...

113779. On 1 July 1942, he transferred from the East Yorkshire Regiment to the

Royal Regiment of Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. He reached the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. On 4 January 1955, having been convicted of a crime by the civil authorities, he was "removed from the Army".

Political career

Blackburn stood unsuccessfully for the

Common Wealth Party The Common Wealth Party (CW) was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom with parliamentary representation from the middle of the Second World War until the year after its end. Thereafter it continued in being, essentially as a pres ...

in the 1943 Watford by-election. He then won the King's Norton seat for Labour at the 1945 general election, defeating the sitting

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 i ...

Basil Arthur John Peto Major Basil Arthur John Peto (13 December 1900 – 3 February 1954) was a British Conservative Party politician. Early life Peto was born 13 December 1900 at Chertsey, Surrey, the son of Sir Basil Peto, a former Member of Parliament."Major Joh ...

but at the 1950 general election switched to the newly created Northfield seat. He left Parliament the following year. Blackburn's political career, which began promisingly with his maiden speech being praised by

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

, was blighted by his

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

with the first of a series of arrests for drunkenness coming in 1947. Falling into further legal difficulties Blackburn was declared bankrupt in 1952 and imprisoned in 1956 for fraud regarding the illegal use of a caravan site, and for unlawfully inducing people to buy shares in a worthless company. He served 16 months in prison. He publicly acknowledged his drink problem and even wrote a 1959 book discussing how alcohol had ruined his career.

Moral and judicial crusader

After disappearing from the public view for a time Blackburn returned as a moral crusader, working closely with

anti-pornography Reasons for opposition to pornography include religious objections and feminist concerns (for specific sectors of feminism), as well as alleged harmful effects, such as pornography addiction. Pornography addiction is not a condition recognized ...

campaigner

Lord Longford Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, 1st Baron Pakenham, Baron Pakenham of Cowley, (5 December 1905 – 3 August 2001), known to his family as Frank Longford and styled Lord Pakenham from 1945 to 1961, was a British politician and ...

. His other campaigns included a failed drive against gambling and attempts to prosecute the films ''

Mera ur kärlekens språk ''Mera ur kärlekens språk'' (aka ''More from the Language of Love'' and ''More about the Language of Love'', also released as ''Language of Love 2'') is a 1970 Swedish sex educational film directed by Torgny Wickman. It is a sequel to the 1969 f ...

'' and ''

Language of Love ''Language of Love'' () is a 1969 Swedish sex educational film directed by Torgny Wickman. It was an international success. It gained publicity when 30,000 people gathered on Trafalgar Square in London to protest against a nearby movie theatre ...

'' for gross indecency, the former successfully, the latter unsuccessfully. Although ''Mera ur kärlekens språk'' was the sequel of ''Language of Love'' Blackburn opted to prosecute the later film first. Blackburn also took part in a number of prominent legal challenges of major constitutional significance, including '' R v Commissioner of Metropolitan Police, ex parte Blackburn'', on illegal gambling and the duties of the police, and '' Blackburn v Attorney-General'', on the constitutionality of the European Communities Act 1972. Blackburn petitioned the court for a writ in regards to the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963. The case was described as follows: "A and B are alleged to have committed a crime. A is charged with the crime, convicted and sentenced. B is not charged. At the trial of A there is evidence which suggests that B may have committed or been a participant to the crime. Can the prosecution be compelled to prosecute B?" In 1968, the Divisional Court of

Queen's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of common ...

consisting of

Lord Widgery John Passmore Widgery, Baron Widgery, (24 July 1911 – 26 July 1981) was an English judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 1971 to 1980. He is principally noted for presiding over the Widgery Tribunal on the events ...

C.J., Stevenson and Brabin JJ, decided that "to prosecute must indisputably be a matter of discretion." The judgment was affirmed by the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

in autumn of 1972. In 1972, he decided to pursue this matter into the

, which confirmed the 1968 judgment, in a separate matter of enforcement against the

British Board of Film Censors The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of fi ...

and a cinema of the pornography laws then extant. The original Blackburn case in the 1968 Court of

dealt with Blackburn's allegations of a London illegal gambling establishment, whereas in Autumn 1972 the adjudication was in the Court of Appeal of

Lord Denning Alfred Thompson "Tom" Denning, Baron Denning (23 January 1899 – 5 March 1999) was an English lawyer and judge. He was called to the bar of England and Wales in 1923 and became a King's Counsel in 1938. Denning became a judge in 1944 when ...

, MR. The case was noted as recently as the 1998 decision of the Lords Regina v. Chief Constable of Sussex Ex Parte International Trader's Ferry Limited 1998 UKHL 40, concerning police protection for the customers of ITF, a company involved in the export of livestock through the port of Shoreham, during the early months of 1995 when animal rights protesters were trying to stop the trade. The Blackburn cases more recently have attracted the attention of Albert Burgess and the English Constitution Group, in their quest to bring charges of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

against the politicians responsible for the European Communities Act 1972.

Personal life

Blackburn married three times and had eight children. His first marriage was to Barbara Mary Robison in 1939. Together they had two sons and one daughter. Their marriage was dissolved in 1954. He was married to Marianne Ferguson from 1956 to 1959 when their marriage was dissolved. This was his only marriage to not produce children. His third and final marriage was to Tessa Hume in 1959. Their marriage ended on his death in 1991; she survived him. They had two sons and three daughters. Blackburn died on 3 November 1991, aged 76, at

Charing Cross Hospital Charing Cross Hospital is an acute general teaching hospital located in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom. The present hospital was opened in 1973, although it was originally established in 1818, approximately five miles east, in central Lond ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackburn, Raymond 1915 births 1991 deaths Anti-pornography activists Common Wealth Party politicians Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies British politicians convicted of fraud British politicians convicted of crimes Politicians from Bournemouth UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 English fraudsters East Yorkshire Regiment officers Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War II English solicitors 20th-century English lawyers 20th-century English businesspeople