Jack Straw

This article is about the British politician. For other uses, seeJack Straw (disambiguation).

The Right Honourable Jack Straw
Official portrait, 2015
Secretary of State for Justice Lord Chancellor
In office 28 June 2007 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	The Lord Falconer of Thoroton
Succeeded by	Kenneth Clarke
Leader of the House of Commons Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
In office 5 May 2006 – 27 June 2007
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Geoff Hoon
Succeeded by	Harriet Harman
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In office 8 June 2001 – 5 May 2006
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Robin Cook
Succeeded by	Margaret Beckett
Home Secretary
In office 2 May 1997 – 8 June 2001
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Michael Howard
Succeeded by	David Blunkett
Shadow Cabinetposts Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Acting 11 May 2010 – 25 September 2010 Leader Harriet Harman (acting) Preceded by William Hague Succeeded by Harriet Harman Shadow Secretary of State for Justice Shadow Lord Chancellor In office 11 May 2010 – 8 October 2010 Leader Harriet Harman (acting) Preceded by Dominic Grieve Succeeded by Sadiq Khan Shadow Home Secretary In office 20 October 1994 – 2 May 1997 Leader Tony Blair Preceded by Tony Blair Succeeded by Michael Howard Shadow Minister for Local Government and Housing In office 24 July 1992 – 20 October 1994 Leader John Smith Margaret Beckett (acting) Preceded by Eric Heffer Succeeded by Nick Raynsford Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Science In office 13 July 1987 – 18 July 1992 Leader Neil Kinnock Preceded by Giles Radice Succeeded by Ann Taylor
Member of Parliament forBlackburn
In office 3 May 1979 – 30 March 2015
Preceded by	Barbara Castle
Succeeded by	Kate Hollern
Personal details
Born	John Whitaker Straw (1946-08-03)3 August 1946 Buckhurst Hill,Essex,England
Political party	Labour
Spouses	Anthea Weston ​ ​ (m.1968;div.1977)​ Alice Perkins ​ ​ (m.1978)​
Children	3; includingWill
Education	Brentwood School
Alma mater	University of Leeds Inns of Court School of Law
Signature

John Whitaker Straw(born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments ofTony BlairandGordon Brown.He held two of the traditionalGreat Offices of State,asHome Secretaryfrom 1997 to 2001, andForeign Secretaryfrom 2001 to 2006 under Blair. He was aMember of Parliament(MP) forBlackburnfrom 1979 to 2015.

Straw was born inEssexand privately educated both atOaklands School,where his mother worked as a teacher, and later atBrentwood School.He studied Law at theUniversity of Leedsbefore having a career as a barrister. He served as an adviser to cabinet ministerBarbara Castleand was selected to succeed her as MP for theBlackburnconstituency when she stood down at the1979 general election.

From 2007 to 2010, he served asLord High Chancellor of Great Britainand theSecretary of State for Justicethroughout theBrown ministry.Straw is one of only three individuals to have served in Cabinet continuously during the Labour governments from 1997 to 2010, the others being Brown andAlistair Darling.After theLabour Partylost power in the2010 general election,he briefly served asShadow Deputy Prime MinisterandShadow Secretary of State for Justice,with the intention of standing down from the frontbench after the subsequent2010 Labour Party Shadow Cabinet election.

Early life

Straw was born inBuckhurst Hillin Essex, the son of (Walter) Arthur Whitaker Straw—an insurance clerk and salesman and former industrial chemist born atWorsbroughnearBarnsley,and raised inWoodford Green—and Joan Sylvia Gilbey, a teacher at the independentOaklands School,whose father was aLoughtonbus mechanic andshop steward,and who was distantly related to thegin-making family.After his father (with whom, by the time of his death, Straw and his siblings were reconciled) left the family, Straw was raised by his mother on acouncil estateinLoughton.Known to his family as John, he started calling himself Jack while in school, in reference toJack Straw,one of the leaders of thePeasants' Revolt of 1381.Straw is of 1/8th Jewish descent (his maternal grandfather's mother came from an Eastern European Jewish family). He himself is a Christian.

Straw was educated at the school at which his mother taught, Oaklands, and when she left there, at Staples Road Primary School, Loughton, thenBrentwood Schooland theUniversity of Leeds.He graduated with a 2:2 degree in Law.He was alleged by theForeign Officeto have disrupted a student trip toChileto build a youth centre. They branded him a "troublemaker acting with malice aforethought".

Straw was then elected president of theLeeds University Union,during which time he reluctantly supported a sit-in lasting four days in June 1968. At the 1967National Union of Students(NUS) Conference, he unsuccessfully ran for office in the NUS. In April 1968 he stood unsuccessfully for election as NUS President, but was defeated byTrevor Fisk.However, he was elected as NUS President in 1969, holding this post until 1971.In 1971, he was elected as a Labour councillor in theLondon Borough of Islington,a position he held until 1978.

Straw qualified as abarristeratInns of Court School of Law,practising criminal law for two years from 1972 to 1974. He is a member ofThe Honourable Society of the Inner Templeand remains active in lecturing to fellow members and students. Between 1971 and 1974, Jack Straw was a member of theInner London Education Authority,and Deputy Leader from 1973 to 1974. He served as a political adviser toBarbara Castleat theDepartment of Social Securityfrom 1974 to 1976, and as an adviser toPeter Shoreat theDepartment for the Environmentfrom 1976 to 1977. From 1977 to 1979, Straw worked as a researcher for theGranada TVseriesWorld in Action.

Early parliamentary career (1979–1997)

Straw stood unsuccessfully as the Labour parliamentary candidate for the safe ConservativeTonbridge and Mallingconstituency in theFebruary 1974 election.In 1977, he was selected to stand for Labour in its safeBlackburnseat at the subsequent general election, after Barbara Castle decided not to seek re-election there. He won the seat at the1979 general election.

Straw's first Shadow Cabinet post was asShadow Education Secretaryfrom 1987 to 1992 and he briefly served asShadow Secretary of State for the EnvironmentunderJohn Smithfrom 1992 to 1994.WhenTony Blairbecame leader following Smith's death, he chose Straw to succeed him asShadow Home Secretary.Like Blair, Straw believed Labour's electoral chances had been damaged in the past by the party appearing to be "soft on crime", and he developed a reputation as being even more authoritarian than theConservativeHome SecretaryMichael Howard.Straw garnered particular attention for comments condemning "aggressive beggars, winos and squeegee merchants" and calling for a curfew on children.

Home Secretary (1997–2001)

Appointed asHome Secretaryafter the1997 general election,he brought forward theRegulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000,increased police powers against terrorism and proposed to remove the right to trial by jury in certain cases.These policies won praise fromMargaret Thatcherwho once declared "I would trust Jack Straw's judgement. He is a very fair man." They were deemed excessively authoritarian by his former students' union, which in 2000 banned him from the building—a policy which lapsed in 2003. However, he also incorporated theEuropean Convention on Human Rightsinto British law, finalising thede jureabolition of thedeath penaltywith the passage of theHuman Rights Act 1998.

Hillsborough and Macpherson Inquiries

In June 1997, Straw appointed Lord Justice Stuart-Smith to conduct a review of the need for a new public inquiry into the Hillsborough disaster. He indicated to the judge at the outset that in the view of his officials "there was not sufficient evidence to justify a new inquiry". In contrast he had told parliament "I am determined to go as far as I can to ensure that no matter of significance is overlooked and that we do not reach a final conclusion without a full and independent examination of the evidence." He had given the families of the victims full assurance that he intended a thorough examination of the matter. He apologised in both 2012 and 2016 for the failures of his review.

On 31 July 1997, Straw ordered apublic inquiry,to be conducted bySir William Macphersonand officially titled "The Inquiry into the Matters Arising fromthe Death of Stephen Lawrence".Its report, produced in February 1999, estimated that it had taken "more than 100,000 pages of reports, statements, and other written or printed documents"and concluded that the originalMetropolitan Police Service(MPS) investigation had been incompetent and that officers had committed fundamental errors, including: failing to givefirst aidwhen they reached the scene; failing to follow obvious leads during their investigation; and failing to arrest suspects. The report found that there had been a failure of leadership by senior MPS officers and that recommendations of the 1981Scarman Report,compiled followingrace-related riotsinBrixtonandToxteth,had been ignored and concluded that the force was "institutionally racist".It also recommended that thedouble jeopardyrule should beabrogatedin murder cases to allow a retrial upon new and compelling evidence;this became lawin 2005. Straw commented in 2012 that ordering the inquiry was "the single most important decision I made as Home Secretary".

Electoral reform and legislation

As Home Secretary, Straw was also involved in changing theelectoral systemfor theEuropean Parliament electionsfrom plurality toproportional representation.In doing so, he advocated the use of theD'Hondt formulaon the grounds that it produces the most proportional outcomes. The d'Hondt formula, however, is less proportional than theSainte-Laguëformula which was proposed by theLiberal Democrats.Straw later apologised to theHouse of Commonsfor his misleading comments,but the d'Hondt formula stayed in place.

In 1998, Straw declined to pardon thePendle Witches,hanged in 1612 for committing murder by witchcraft. Defending the decision, his representative stated that it could not be proved that they were innocent of the crime with which they were charged.

In March 2000, Jack Straw was responsible for allowing formerChileandictatorAugusto Pinochetto return toChile.There were requests from several countries for Pinochet to be extradited and face trial for crimes against humanity. Pinochet was placed under house arrest in Britain while appealing the legal authority of the Spanish and British courts to try him, but Straw eventually ordered his release on medical grounds before a trial could begin, and Pinochet returned to Chile.

TheRotherham child sexual exploitation scandalcontinued at this time, and according to theTelegraph,Straw had highlighted the problem four years prior to theJay reportbeing published, saying there was a "specific problem" in some areas of the country where Pakistani men "target vulnerable young white girls". White girls were, he said, viewed as "easy meat".

Also in 2000, Straw turned down an asylum request from a man fleeingSaddam Hussein's government,stating "we have faith in the integrity of theIraqijudicial process and that you should have no concerns if you haven't done anything wrong. "

He worried, along withWilliam Hague,about the possibility of English nationalism: "As we move into this new century, people's sense of Englishness will become more articulated and that's partly because of the mirror that devolution provides us with and because we're becoming more European at the same time."

Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary (2001–2006)

Straw appears at a press conference withUnited States Secretary of State,Condoleezza Rice

Straw was appointed Foreign Secretary in 2001 to succeedRobin Cook.Within months, Straw was confronted by theSeptember 11 attacksin the United States. He was initially seen as taking a back seat to Tony Blair in Her Majesty's Government's prosecution of the "war against terrorism".In late September 2001, he became the first senior British government minister to visitIransince the1979 Revolution.

War on Terror

Following the9/11 attacks,Straw immediately condemned the attacks and supported theBush administration’s interventionist policyin theWar on Terror,arguing these actions were necessary to dismantle terrorist networks and prevent future attacks. Straw called forNATO’sinvocation of Article 5, which marked the first time the collective defence clause was activated.

Following 9/11, Straw was involved in the passage of theAnti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001,which expandedsurveillance,counter-terrorismmeasures and detention of non-British nationals powers at home.However, he later faced scrutiny as reports emerged revealing British intelligence’s involvement in rendition operations and awareness of detainee mistreatment by US authorities. Despite his claims of ignorance about the extent of these actions, these revelations prompted significant controversy and criticism.

In 2003, the governments of the US and UK agreed a new extradition treaty between them, intended to speed up extradition of terrorist suspects. The provisions of the treaty were enacted in theExtradition Act 2003.The treaty later attracted controversy with opponents alleging it to be one-sided: a British request to the US needed to provide aprima faciecase against a suspect while a US request to Britain needed only to provide reasonable suspicion for an arrest.There have been a series of causes célèbres involving the treaty, including theNatWest Threewho later pleaded guilty to fraud against the US parent company of their employers, andGary McKinnonwho admitted hacking US defence computers. An inquiry into extradition arrangements by retired Judge SirScott Bakerreported in September 2011 that the treaty was not unbalanced and "there is no practical difference between the information submitted to and from the United States".

International affairs

In 2002, Straw became concerned over the ethnic conflict during theGujarat riotsin westernIndia,on which he said violence and human rights abuses were carried out without preventing by local authorities, to which he took a personal position in the Britain’s response by supporting the establishment of an inquiry to investigate the events.His criticised the cause of the riots, which included blaming the then-Chief Ministerand laterPrime MinisterNarendra Modifor not preventing such tensions in a BBC documentary, which was later criticised as “biased” against Modi in 2023.

In 2004, Straw came under criticism for granting asylum toAkhmed Zakayev,a spokesperson for Chechen separatists, whom theKremlinimplicated in theBeslan school siege.RussianForeign MinisterSergei Lavrovaccused Britain of undermining the anti-terrorist coalition by allowing Zakayev to live inLondonand use asylum as a shield. The feud over Zakayev’s extradition intensified, especially after his asylum was granted the previous November, with Russia struggling to present a compelling case. Despite Russian pressure, the British government maintained that extradition required substantial evidence and Straw called Russia’s declaration to strike terrorist bases globally an “understandable” reaction.

In a letter toThe Independentin 2004, Straw claimed thatTrotskyists"can usually now be found inthe City,appearing on quiz shows or ranting in certain national newspapers, "and recommended"Left-Wing" Communism: An Infantile DisorderbyVladimir Lenin.

In the2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt,Straw was personally informed months in advance of the plans for the takeover attempt and failed to accomplish the duty under international law of alerting the country's government. The involvement of British oil companies in the funding of the coup d'état, and the changing of British citizens evacuation plans forEquatorial Guineabefore the attempt, posed serious challenges for the alleged ignorance of the situation. Later on, British officials and Straw were forced to apologise toThe Observerafter categorically denying they had prior knowledge of the coup plot.

Controversy over the Iraq War

In the run-up to the2005 general election,Straw faced a potential backlash from his Muslim constituents over the Iraq War – theMuslim Public Affairs Committee UK(MPAC) attempted to capitalise on anti-war sentiment with 'operation Muslim vote' in Blackburn. The swing to the second placed Conservatives was less than 2%, much lower than the national average; the Liberal Democrat's increase in vote share (+12.5%) surpassed Labour's loss (−12.1%).Craig Murray,who had been withdrawn as the ambassador toUzbekistan,stood against his former Boss (Straw was then Foreign Secretary) on a platform opposing the use of information gathered under torture in the "War on Terror"; he received a 5% vote share. Straw was re-elected, and following his victory called MPAC an "egregious group", and criticised their tactics during the election.

At the 2005 Labour Conference, the then Foreign Secretary was heckled byWalter Wolfgang,a German Jew who had suffered persecution under the Nazis, and a prominent Labour Party member. At a point when Straw claimed his support for the invasion of Iraq was solely for the purpose of supporting the Iraqi government, 82-year-old Wolfgang was heard to shout "Nonsense", and was forcibly removed from the auditorium by several bouncers. The incident gained considerable publicity, with party chairmanIan McCartneyinitially supporting the right to remove hecklers by force. McCartney, PM Tony Blair and other senior Labour members later issued apologies; Wolfgang was later elected to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party.

Military intervention in Iraq and Middle East policy

On 13 October 2005, Straw took questions from a public panel of individuals in a BBCNewsnighttelevision special on the subject of Iraq, addressing widespread public concerns about theexit strategyfor British troops, the Iraqi insurgency and, inevitably, the moral legitimacy of the war. On several occasions Straw reiterated his position that the decision to invade was in his opinion the right thing to do, but said he did not 'know' for certain that this was the case. He said he understood why public opinion on several matters might differ from his own—a Newsnight/ICM poll showed over 70% of respondents believed the war in Iraq to have increased the likelihood of terrorist attacks in Britain, but Straw said he could not agree based on the information presented to him.

Straw meets with US Deputy Secretary of DefencePaul Wolfowitzand UK Ambassador to the USChristopher Meyerin 2001.

In February 2006, Straw attracted publicity after he condemned the publication ofcartoons picturing Mohammedin the Danish newspaperJyllands-Posten.

Straw voiced concern over the2006 Lebanon War.Straw warned thatIsrael's military action "could further destabilise the already fragile Lebanese nation", while noting that "Israel has clear rights to defend itself proportionately".

In August 2006, it was claimed byWilliam Rees-MogginThe Timesthat there was evidence that Straw was removed from this post upon the request of theBush administration,possibly owing to his expressed opposition to bombingIran.This would be ironic, asRichard IngramsinThe Independentwondered whether Straw's predecessor as Foreign Secretary,Robin Cook,was also removed at Bush's request,allowing Straw to become Foreign Secretary in the first place. It has also been alleged that another factor in Straw's dismissal was the large number of Muslims amongst his Blackburn constituents, supposedly considered a cause for concern by the US.

Iraq Inquiry

Straw gave evidence to theIraq Inquiryon 21 January 2010, making him the second member of Tony Blair's cabinet to do so. He told the inquiry that the decision to go to war in Iraq had "haunted him" and that it was the "most difficult decision" of his life.He also said that he could have stopped the invasion, had he wanted to.

In July 2017, former Iraqi general Abdulwaheed al-Rabbat launched a private war crimes prosecution, in the High Court in London, asking for Straw, Tony Blair and former attorney generalLord Goldsmithto be prosecuted for "the crime of aggression" for their role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The High Court ruled that, although the crime of aggression was recognised in international law, it was not an offence under UK law, and, therefore, the prosecution could not proceed.

Rendition and torture allegations

Despite repeated denials about his complicity inextraordinary rendition—he once dismissed the suggestion of UK involvement in the practice as a "conspiracy theory" —Straw had been dogged for years over his alleged leading role in it, with specific accusations about the case of Libyan politicianAbdel Hakim Belhadjarising in April 2012.In October 2012,The Guardianreported on the filing of court papers, which alleged that MI6 alertedMuammar Gaddafi's intelligence services to the whereabouts of dissidents, co-operated in their rendition, sent officers and detailed questions to assist in their interrogation, and that Straw attempted to conceal this from MPs.

The high court in London agreed in January 2017, against the wishes of theConservativegovernment, to hear a judicial review against the decision to not prosecute Straw and former head of MI6Mark Allenin the case of the abduction and alleged torture of Belhadj and his pregnant wife who were abducted in Bangkok in 2004 after a tip-off fromMI6and were held for seven years in Tripoli where, Belhaj alleges, he and his wife were repeatedly tortured.TheCrown Prosecution Servicehad decided in June 2016 to not prosecute any members of the UK government citing a "lack of evidence" and the challenge to that decision resulted in the decision to allow a judicial review.

After a successful action by theConservativegovernment the high court announced in July 2017 that the judicial review would be held in private and that evidence relating to the defence by the government and security services would neither be made available to Belhaj or his legal team nor made public. Criticising the decision Belhaj was quoted as saying that "I went through a secret trial once before, in Gaddafi's Libya. It took about a half hour, and I never saw any of the evidence against me. Later a guard came to my cell and tossed in a red jumpsuit – that was how I found out that the secret court had sentenced me to die" and continued "what kind of a trial will it be if we put in a mountain of evidence and government officials can simply refuse to answer us". In response, Straw stated that he was opposed toextraordinary renditionand had not been complicit in it.

Leader of the House of Commons (2006–2007)

Official portrait, 2007

After the Labour Party suffered major defeats in local elections on 4 May 2006, losing 317 seats in balloting for 176 councils, Tony Blair acted the following day with amajor reshuffleof his ministers during which he moved Straw from Foreign Secretary toLeader of the House of CommonsandLord Privy Seal.Straw had apparently requested a break from high ministerial office after serving in two of the four great departments of state for nearly ten years. To lessen the apparent demotion, Blair gave Straw responsibility for House of Lords reform and party funding, issues which had been part of the portfolio of theDepartment for Constitutional Affairs.In addition, Straw was given the chairmanship of the Constitutional Affairs cabinet committee where he was responsible for attempting to force through a flat-fee charge for Freedom of Information requests.

On 25 March 2007, Straw announced he was to runGordon Brown's campaign for the Labour leadership. This was the first official confirmation the Chancellor would stand.

2006 debate over veils

Main article:British debate over veils

In October 2006, Straw attracted controversy by suggesting to a local newspaper,The Lancashire Evening Telegraph(nowThe Lancashire Telegraph), thatMuslim womenwho wear veils that cover their faces (theniqab) can inhibit inter-community relations, though he denied the issue was raised for political gain, stating that he had raised it in private circles in the past and it had never progressed beyond discussions. Although he did not support a law banning a woman's right to choose to wear the veil, he would like them to abandon it altogether.

Asked whether he would prefer veils to be abolished completely, Straw said: "Yes. It needs to be made clear I am not talking about being prescriptive but with all the caveats, yes, I would rather."He said that he had asked women visiting hisconstituency surgeriesto consider uncovering their noses and mouths in order to allow better communication. He claimed that no women had ever chosen to wear a full veil after this request.

Straw's comments kicked off a wide-ranging and sometimes harshly worded debate withinBritish politicsand the media; Straw was supported by some establishment figures and castigated by others, including Muslim groups. There isan ongoing debatewithin theMuslim communitywhether theQur'anandhadith(traditions ofMuhammad) require the use of the full face veil.Straw apologised for these comments regarding the veil on 26 April 2010 at a private hustings organised byEngagein the buildup to the2010 United Kingdom general election.

Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (2007–2010)

Strawcanvassingwith local councillors inBlackburn

Straw was appointedLord High Chancellor of Great BritainandSecretary of State for Justiceon the first full day of Gordon Brown's ministry, 28 June 2007. He was the first Lord Chancellor since the sixteenth century to serve in the role whilst a member of the House of Commons. His appointment meant that he continued to be a major figure in the Labour Government. Only Straw, Brown andAlistair Darlingserved in the cabinet continuously during Labour's 13-year government from 1997 to 2010.

In February 2009, Straw used his authority asSecretary of State for Justiceto veto publication of government documents requested under theFreedom of Information Act:in particular, those pertaining to early government meetings held in the run-up to the Iraq war in 2003.

Straw represented the government on acontroversial edition ofQuestion Timeon 22 October 2009, againstBritish National PartyleaderNick Griffinon his first ever appearance. Griffin's first comment was to attack Straw's father's wartime record, to general disdain. As Griffin claimed that European laws prevented him from explaining his stance onholocaust denialStraw later offered his personal assurance as Secretary of State for Justice, which Griffin declined.

Alleged ambitions for premiership

Andrew Thorpe-Apps, writing inthe Backbencher,states that Straw knew he would be defeated by Gordon Brown in a leadership contest as Brown was 'consumed by this one ambition'.

Expenses claims

Main article:List of expenses claims in the United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal

Two months after learning that MPs' expenses were to be made public, Straw admitted to the fees office to using expenses to claim a full council tax bill despite only paying a 50% rate. Straw said he had acted in good faith and had repaid the erroneous claims once he was aware that MPs' expenses were to be made public. Included with the admission was a cheque for the amount he believed he had overcharged, which itself turned out to have been miscalculated leading Straw to send a further cheque with a note saying "accountancy does not appear to be my strongest suit".

Retirement from front-bench politics (2010–present)

In August 2010, Straw announced his plans to quit his role as Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and move to the backbenches, citing the need for a 'fresh start' for the Labour Party under a new leader.Straw has since described Gordon Brown's leadership as a "tragedy".

In December 2010, ahead of the2011 Alternative Vote Referendum,Straw was a signatory to a letter toThe Guardianarguing in favour of thealternative vote.

In January 2011, Straw provoked controversy with comments made onNewsnightabout Pakistani men.He said "there is a specific problem which involves Pakistani heritage men... who target vulnerable young white girls."His comments came after two men of Pakistani origin were convicted of rape inDerby.

In April 2011, Straw was appointed as a consultant toED&F Man Holdings Ltd,a British company based in London specialising in the production and trading of commodities including sugar, molasses, animal feed, tropical oils, biofuels, coffee and financial services. Commenting on his appointment to ED&F Man on a salary of £30,000 per annum, Straw said, "There are 168 hours in the week, and I will work inBlackburnfor a least 60 and maybe sleep for 50. Providing there's no conflict, I have long taken the view that I am not against people doing other things. I had two jobs as a minister. I think it's really important that politicians are involved with the outside world. "

In late 2011, Straw was appointed to the role of visiting professor toUniversity College LondonSchool of Public Policy. He later argued for the abolition of theEuropean Parliament.

On 25 October 2013, Straw announced that he would stand down as an MP at the next election.

Allegation of antisemitism

In 2013, at a round-table event of the Global Diplomatic Forum at the UK's House of Commons, Straw (who has partial Jewish heritage)noted, according toEinat Wilf,a former member of Israel'sKnessetwho was one of the other panelists, that among the main obstacles to peace in the Middle East was the amount of money available to Jewish organisations and AIPAC in the US, which was used to control US policy in the region, an opinion common among opponents of Israel. Another obstacle was Germany's "obsession" with defending Israel.Wilf stated: "It was appalling to listen to Britain's former foreign secretary. His remarks reflect prejudice of the worst kind... I thought British diplomats, including former ones, were still capable of a measure of rational thought."Wilf said that she was shocked to hear Straw's comments and that she responded in the debate by stressing her view that the origin and cause of the conflict was the Palestinian and Arab refusal to accept Israel's legitimacy as a sovereign Jewish state.

The Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland said that Straw's comments "echo some of the oldest and ugliest prejudices about 'Jewish power' and go far beyond mere criticism of Israel."

Speaking toThe Jerusalem Post,Straw strongly denied claims that his criticism was antisemitic.In a statement toThe Times of Israel,Straw did not relate to whether he had said what Wilf alleged he said, but did say that there was no justification in any of his remarks for claims that he was being antisemitic. He pointed out that Wilf did not claim that he had embarked on an antisemitic diatribe, as had been claimed in many of the media reports.He wrote a statement to the Israeli newspaperHaaretz,which was described as follows:

Straw wrote that he had voiced concerns at the seminar over Israel's "settlement-building... on Palestinian land (in East Jerusalem, and the Occupied Territories). This is illegal, as the British Foreign Secretary William Hague has observed and in those terms. I said that this amounted to 'theft' of Palestinians' land." In addition, he said that he advocated at the seminar "a tougher stand on this (and on the related issue of goods exported from the Occupied Territories by Israelis) by the European Union."

He said that he had pointed out in the past that one of the obstacles to an EU policy on this had been "the attitude of Germany, who for understandable reasons have been reluctant to be out of line with the Government of Israel."

Responding to the claim by Wilf that he referred to "Jewish money", Straw said that he had spoken at the seminar of the "Israeli lobby" and "the problems which faced President Obama from AIPAC" and spoke of the way AIPAC spends large sums of money supporting pro-Israeli candidates in American elections.

Cash for access

In February 2015, Straw was secretly recorded by journalists fromThe Daily TelegraphandChannel 4 News,who posed as representatives of a fictitious Chinese company that wanted to set up an advisory council. Straw was recorded describing how he operated "under the radar" and had used his influence to change EU rules on behalf of a firm which paid him £60,000 a year.Straw voluntarily withdrew from the Parliamentary Labour Party (but remained a member of the party itself) in February 2015 due to allegations from Channel 4 andThe Daily Telegraph.

Straw denied any wrongdoing or any breach of the parliamentary rules and voluntarily referred himself to theParliamentary Commissioner for Standardsand withdrew from the Parliamentary Labour Party pending the Commissioner's inquiry.He told the BBC, "[I have] acted with complete probity and integrity throughout my parliamentary career".He was exonerated by the Commissioner in September 2015 after a detailed investigation.The Commissioner for Standards dismissed all allegations that he had brought the House of Commons into disrepute, saying that "I have seen nothing which suggests that [Mr Straw's] conduct would have merited criticism if the approach made by PMR [the bogus company established by Channel 4] had been genuine."She said that "the evidence I have seen supports Mr Straw's assertions that he" neither exaggerated nor boasted "in what he said to the reporters."

The Commissioner was sharply critical of Channel 4 andThe Daily Telegraph,saying "if in their coverage of this story, the reporters for Channel 4'sDispatches,andThe Daily Telegraphhad accurately reported what was said by these two members [the other was SirMalcolm Rifkind] in their interviews and measured their words against the rules of the House it would have been possible to avoid the damage that has been done to the lives of these two individuals and those around them and to the reputation of the House. "

Media regulatorOfcom,however, took a different view; it judged in December 2015 that the journalists had investigated a matter of significant public interest and that their presentation had been fair.

Personal life

Straw's first marriage, in 1968, to teacher Anthea Weston, ended in divorce in 1977. They had a daughter, Rachel, born on 24 February 1976, who died after five days because of a heart defect. On 10 November 1978, he marriedAlice Perkins,a senior civil servant.In 2006, Straw's wife joined the board of the country's largest airports operatorBAA,shortly before it was taken over by the Spanish firmFerrovial.

Perkins was Chair of the Post Office during a critical period of theBritish Post Office scandal,chairing a Post Office sub-committee, codenamed "Project Sparrow", which has been accused of sacking forensic accountants who had found bugs in the Horizon IT system and seeking to exclude victims from compensation.

The couple have two adult children,Willand Charlotte.Straw has suffered fromdepressionandtinnitus.

Straw supports his local football teamBlackburn Rovers,and was made an honorary vice-president of the club in 1998 byJack Walker.In October 2015, he was given theFreedom of the BoroughofBlackburn with Darwen.

A motion ofLeeds University Union Councilin 2000 revoked Jack Straw's life membership of the Union and removed his name from the Presidents' Board, citing his support for "the asylum and immigration bill"and for limits to trial by jury and legal aid.In 2007, the Union Council reinstated his life membership and place on the Presidents' Board.Jack Straw's brother, William Straw was convicted of a sexual assault on a 16 year old girl in year 2000 and put on Sex Offender list for 5 years.

Publications

Autobiography

• Straw, Jack (2012).Last Man Standing: Memoirs of a Political Survivor.Macmillan.ISBN978-1447222750.

Author or co-author

• The English Job: Understanding Iran and Why It Distrusts Britain(2019)ISBN978-1785903991
• Implementation of the Human Rights Act 1998: Minutes of Evidence, Wednesday 14 March 2001(2001)ISBN0-10-442701-9
• Making Prisons Work: Prison Reform Trust Annual Lecture(1998)ISBN0-946209-44-8
• Future of Policing and Criminal Justice (Institute of Police & Criminological Studies Occasional Paper S.)(1996)ISBN1-86137-087-3
• Policy and Ideology(1993)ISBN0-9521163-0-8

Reports

• Reform of the Race Relations Act 1976: Proposals for Change Submitted by the Commission for Racial Equality to the Rt Hon Jack Straw MP, Secretary of State for the Home Department, on 30 April 1998(1998)ISBN1-85442-210-3

External links

• "Jack Straw".Blackburn Labour Party.

• ProfileatParliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in ParliamentatHansard
• Contributions in ParliamentatHansard 1803–2005
• Voting recordatPublic Whip
• Record in ParliamentatTheyWorkForYou
• Jack Strawcollected news and commentary atThe Guardianand articles writtenbyJack Straw forThe Guardian
• Jack Strawcollected news and commentary atThe New York Times
• AppearancesonC-SPAN
• Jack StrawatIMDb
• Online exhibition of the May 1968 student protest in Leeds
• ' "Paris Today, Leeds Tomorrow!" Remembering 1968 in Leeds',Northern Historyjournal, online 2020
• Jack Straw,BBC News,Newsnight,17 October 2002
• ConvaTec, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Blair, Straw and Chilcot