Michael Fallon
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury | |||||||||||||||||||||
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In office 10 May 1990 – 22 July 1990 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher | ||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Stephen Dorrell | ||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Greg Knight | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Michael Cathel Fallon 14 May 1952 Perth, Perthshire, Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||||
Political party | Conservative | ||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse |
Wendy Elisabeth Payne
(m. 1986) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Education | Epsom College | ||||||||||||||||||||
Alma mater | University of St Andrews | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sir Michael Cathel Fallon
Fallon attended the independent
Fallon re-entered Parliament at the
Early life and career
Fallon was born in
As a student, Fallon was active in the
Parliamentary career
He was selected as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for
Fallon was appointed as the
Junior minister in the Department for Education and Science
Thatcher appointed Fallon
Return to the House of Commons
Fallon was selected to stand in the safe Conservative seat of Sevenoaks, after the sitting member, Mark Wolfson, decided not to stand again at the 1997 general election. At that election he held Sevenoaks with a substantially reduced majority.
Soon after his return to parliament, Fallon was appointed by William Hague as Opposition Spokesman for Trade and Industry and then as Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury, but in October 1998 he resigned from the front bench, owing to ill health, remaining on the backbenches until Hague appointed him as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party.
From 1999 he was a member of the Treasury Select Committee and chairman of its Sub-Committee (2001–10). He also served on the executive committee of the 1922 Committee between 2005 and 2007.
In September 2012,
Fallon has been a director at
In January 2014, Fallon was appointed as Minister for Portsmouth.[7] Six months later, on 15 July 2014, Cameron promoted him to the Cabinet, as Secretary of State for Defence.
Secretary of State for Defence (2014–2017)
In February 2016, the week after a leaked
In December 2016, Fallon admitted that UK-supplied internationally banned cluster munitions had been used in Saudi Arabia's bombing campaign in Yemen.[11]
In April 2017, Fallon confirmed that the UK would use
In 2017, Fallon warned that
European Union
In an interview in The Daily Telegraph in 2016, before the European Union (EU) membership referendum, Fallon described himself as Eurosceptic and critical of many aspects of the EU, but said that he wanted Britain to remain in the EU, in the face of multiple threats from Russia's president Vladimir Putin, crime, and international terrorism.[14]
Run-up to the 2015 general election
During the run-up to the 2015 general election, Fallon wrote an article in The Times saying that Ed Miliband had stabbed his brother David Miliband in the back to become Labour leader and he would also stab Britain in the back to become prime minister. Fallon subsequently declined the opportunity to describe Miliband as a decent person and his comments embarrassed some Conservative supporters. Miliband gave a response, saying that Fallon had fallen below his usual standards and demeaned himself, which the New Statesman asserted was dignified, contrasting with Fallon's counter-productive personal attack.[15]
Expenses scandal
According to The Daily Telegraph Fallon, Deputy Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, claimed for mortgage repayments on his Westminster flat in their entirety. MPs are only allowed to claim for interest charges.[16]
Between 2002 and 2004, Fallon regularly claimed £1,255 per month in capital repayments and interest, rather than the £700–£800 for the interest component alone.[16] After his error was noticed by staff at the Commons Fees Office in September 2004, he asked: "Why has no one brought this to my attention before?" [16] He repaid £2,200 of this over-claim, but was allowed to offset the remaining £6,100 against his allowance. After realising they had failed to notice the excessive claims, Commons staff reportedly suggested Fallon submit fresh claims which would "reassign" the surplus payments to other costs he had legitimately incurred.[16]
Allegations of sexual harassment, inappropriate behaviour and resignation
In late October 2017 it was reported that Fallon had repeatedly and inappropriately touched journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer's knee during a dinner in 2002.[17] Hartley-Brewer recalled that after Fallon kept putting his hand on her knee, she "calmly and politely explained to him, that if he did it again, I would punch him in the face".[18] Fallon resigned two days later believing his "previous conduct" towards women had "fallen below" what is acceptable.[19] Hartley-Brewer expressed shock at the resignation, saying: "I didn't feel it was something that needed any further dealing with".[20]
It was subsequently reported Fallon had been forced to resign in part due to an allegation of inappropriate and lewd comments towards fellow Conservative MP Andrea Leadsom when they both sat on the Treasury Select Committee. He was also accused of making comments of a sexual nature about other MPs on the committee and members of the public who attended hearings.[21] The former political editor of The Independent on Sunday, Jane Merrick, said in The Observer in early November 2017 that Fallon was the previously unnamed Conservative MP who had "lunged" at her a decade and a half earlier. She had contacted Downing Street about the incident several hours before he resigned.[22] The Observer reported on the same day that "the revelation was the tipping point for No 10, which ... had been compiling a list of alleged incidents involving Fallon since claims against him were first made."[23]
In September 2019, Fallon announced he would not seek re-election at the 2019 United Kingdom general election.[24]
Career outside Parliament
Between 1992 and 1997, Fallon set up a chain of children's nurseries called Just Learning with funding from the British
Personal life
Fallon has been married to Wendy Elisabeth Payne, a HR professional, since 27 September 1986; the couple have two sons.[26][27] The family lives in Sundridge, Kent.
He was banned from driving for 18 months in 1983 after admitting a drink-driving offence during the general election campaign.[28]
Fallon was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) for political and public service as part of the Resignation Honours of the outgoing prime minister David Cameron.[29]
Publications
- The Quango Explosion: Public Bodies and Ministerial Patronage by ISBN 0-85070-621-1
- Sovereign Members by Michael Fallon, 1982
- The Rise of the Euroquango by Michael Fallon, 1982, ISBN 0-906517-22-2
- Brighter Schools: Attracting Private Investment into State Schools by Michael Fallon, 1993, ISBN 1-874097-15-1
References
- ^ "Bridge of Sighs – Frank McNally on the contrasting role of two Dubliners in an infamous battle of the second World War". The Irish Times. 17 September 2019.
- ^ "Extract from Margaret Thatcher The Downing Street Years", Margaret Thatcher Foundation, London 1993, Retrieved on 18 April 2016
- ^ "Secondary Schooling". They Work for You. 9 September 2010. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ^ "Schools: 19 July 1991". They Work for You. 19 July 1991. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ^ Watt, Holly (5 September 2012). "Michael Fallon becomes business minister". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ "Debate on Royal Mail Privatisation". TheyWorkForYou. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ "Minister for Portsmouth to be Michael Fallon". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ MacAskill, Ewen (27 January 2016). "UN report into Saudi-led strikes in Yemen raises questions over UK role". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ Gladstone, Rick (31 January 2016). "Saudi Coalition in Yemen Announces Inquiry Into Bombings". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ Stone, Jon (3 February 2016). "Ministers wined-and-dined by arms trade hours after MPs demand ban on selling weapons to Saudi Arabia". The Independent. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ Cowburn, Ashley (19 December 2016). "British manufactured cluster bombs have been used in Yemen by Saudi Arabia, Michael Fallon admits". The Independent. Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ Merrick, Rob (24 April 2017). "Theresa May would fire UK's nuclear weapons as a 'first strike', says Defence Secretary Michael Fallon". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
- ^ "Russia was the target of Nato's own fake news". The Independent. 22 September 2017. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- ^ "Strength in numbers: Michael Fallon backs staying with Europe". The Daily Telegraph. 20 February 2016. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
- ^ Eaton, George (9 April 2015). "Michael Fallon's attack backfires, leaving Miliband to emerge as the decent man". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ a b c d Swaine, Jon (21 May 2009). "MPs' expenses: Michael Fallon claimed £8,300 too much in mortgage expenses". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ Rayner, Gordon (31 October 2017). "Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon admits touching female radio presenter's knee at a dinner". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
- ^ "Michael Fallon 'apologised for touching journalist's knee'". BBC News. 31 October 2017.
- ^ "Fallon resigns as Defence Secretary over behaviour claims". BBC News. 1 November 2017. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
- ^ "Journalist touched on knee by Fallon calls resignation 'insane'". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ Watts, Joe (3 November 2017). "Sir Michael Fallon resigned after Andrea Leadsom accused him of sexually inappropriate language". The Independent. Archived from the original on 3 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ Merrick, Jane (4 November 2017). "I won't keep my silence: Michael Fallon lunged at me after our lunch". The Observer. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- ^ Doward, Jamie (4 November 2017). "Revealed: Why Michael Fallon was forced to quit as defence secretary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
- ^ "Sevenoaks MP Michael Fallon is to step down after more than 31 years in Parliament". Kent Live. 4 September 2019. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
- ^ Holland, Tiffany (14 September 2012). "Profile: Michael Fallon, Minister for business". Retail Week. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
- ^ Settle, Michael (2 November 2017). "Humiliated Sir Michael Fallon quits as Defence Secretary as sex scandal sweeps Westminster". The Herald. Glasgow. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ "Vote 2001 - Michael Fallon". BBC News. Archived from the original on 10 March 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ The Guardian, News in Brief, 5 July 1983:
- ^ "No. 61678". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 August 2016. p. RH3.
External links
- Michael Fallon website
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
- Debrett's People of Today
- Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Michael Fallon MP
- Appearances on C-SPAN