James Waddell (civil servant)
Sir James Henderson Waddell
civil servant who helped reform the police in the wake of corruption scandals in the 1960s.[1]
Born in
London Blitz.[1] Waddell was wounded in his leg after landing in France after the Normandy landings, and served as a second lieutenant in the Reconnaissance Corps of the British Army.[1] His service number
was 307300.
In 1946 Waddell resumed his civil service career, working for the
Metropolitan Police Service; a Times exposé had alleged widespread corruption, and some of the allegations turned out to be well justified. Waddell worked with the Commissioners, first John Waldron and then Robert Mark, to clear up the mess. He also tried to get the Metropolitan Police to start taking black recruits, a proposition that was adopted with some vigour by Home Secretary Roy Jenkins. Work began on devising a new system of dealing with complaints against the police.[1]
Waddell was appointed by Prime Minister
Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) intelligence agency.[2] Waddell's report was finished in April 1979, and never published. The new Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, described Kane's allegations as "unfounded" to Parliament, and as a consequence Waddell inferred to a journalist that his report had not concluded that Kane's allegations were unfounded.[2]
Waddell married his wife, Dorothy, in 1940, she died in 2001. They had two children, a son and daughter, who survived him at his death.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Obituary: James Waddell". The Guardian. 26 February 2004. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-85043-338-5.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
