George Wigg, Baron Wigg

George Edward Cecil Wigg, Baron Wigg PC (28 November 1900 – 11 August 1983) was a British politician who only served in relatively junior offices but had a great deal of influence behind the scenes, especially with Harold Wilson. Wigg served in the British Army for almost all his career up to his election as Member of Parliament for Dudley in 1945. He served in the Royal Tank Corps from 1919 to 1937 and returned to service in the Second World War, being commissioned into the Army Educational Corps in 1940 and serving until 1946. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Emanuel Shinwell during the Attlee government.

According to veteran Press Association reporter Chris Moncrieff, Wigg was unpopular with Labour MPs ^[1] but managed to use procedure to place the Profumo affair on the record in Parliament and led the pursuit of Profumo which ultimately resulted in the latter's resignation. Wigg also played an important part in the aftermath of the failed prosecution of suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams by questioning in Parliament the unusual conduct of the Prosecution led by Attorney-General, Reginald Manningham-Buller.^[2]

Wigg was already known for passing on gossip to Labour leader Harold Wilson, and when Labour won the 1964 election Wilson appointed Wigg to the office of Paymaster-General, a sinecure position in the government. Wigg's responsibilities were many and varied: among them, he was Wilson's link to the Security Service and the Secret Intelligence Service. In November 1967, he was appointed Chairman of the Horserace Betting Levy Board (Wigg loved horse racing) and left Parliament. He was created a life peer on 27 November 1967 taking the title Baron Wigg, of the Borough of Dudley.^[3] His resignation from parliament sparked a by-election in the Dudley seat in early 1968, with the Conservatives winning the seat before Labour reclaimed it at the general election two years later.

He had been made a Privy Councillor in 1964.

References

1. Chris Moncrieff, PA (10 March 2006). "Profumo and Fleet Street | Media". London: MediaGuardian. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
2. Cullen, Pamela V., "A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams", London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006, ISBN 1-904027-19-9
3. The London Gazette: no. 44462. p. 12991. 28 November 1967.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by George Wigg
• Catalogue of the Wigg papers at the Archives Division of the London School of Economics.