Nigel Griffiths (born 20 May 1955) is a British Labour Party politician, and former Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh South from 1987 to 2010.

Early life

Nigel Griffiths was educated at Hawick High School in the Scottish Borders before attending the University of Edinburgh where he was awarded an MA in 1977. He finished his education at the now Moray House School of Education in Edinburgh in 1978.

In 1978, he worked as a secretary to the Lothian Development Council, before becoming a welfare rights worker with a pressure group working on behalf of people with learning disabilities in 1979. He remained in this position until his election to Parliament.

He worked with Anita Roddick to establish The Big Issue in Scotland and set up the Wester Hailes Citizens Advice Bureau. He is a member of Amnesty International, Friends of the Earth, and The Ramblers. He spent the rest of the parliament as a member of both the procedure and the public accounts select committees. He returned to government following the 2001 general election with the same rank at the Department of Trade and Industry, this time with responsibility for small business.

In 2002 the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards upheld complaints that Griffiths owned an office for which he was claiming expenses for rent of £10,000 a year.

Between 2005 and 2007, Griffiths served as Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, deputising for both Geoff Hoon and then Jack Straw. He resigned over the renewal of the British Trident system in March 2007.

In 2006, Nigel Griffiths has commented on the debate over veils stating "The justification I have heard is that some Muslim women feel 'comfortable' wearing the full veil, but it doesn't make others comfortable."

In March 2009, The News of the World alleged that Griffiths had an extramarital affair in his House of Commons office. He later admitted to this and apologised. He subsequently launched a legal action against the newspaper for invading his privacy and obtaining the material that supported the allegations "in an extremely underhand way".

In May 2009, The Daily Telegraph reported Griffiths had attempted to claim £3,600 for a television, DVD and digital radio to watch and listen to Scottish broadcasts. The claim was rejected by the Fees Office.

On 31 January 2010, Griffiths announced that he would stand down at the 2010 general election, and said that he would be taking up a job with an "international educational institution".

In late 2015 Griffiths became Scottish Co-ordinator of the Labour Leave campaign. In January 2016 he "stole a march on his old ally Gordon Brown, unveiling an anti-EU poster as the former PM was preparing to launch the party’s Scottish campaign for staying in."

Notes

References

Publications

  • Guide to Council Housing in Edinburgh by Nigel Griffiths, 1981
  • Welfare Rights Survey by Nigel Griffiths, 1981
  • Welfare Rights Guide by Nigel Griffiths, 1982
  • Council Housing on the Point of Collapse by Nigel Griffiths, 1982
  • Welfare Rights Guide by Nigel Griffiths, 1983
  • Welfare Rights Guide by Nigel Griffiths, 1984
  • Welfare Rights Guide by Nigel Griffiths, 1985
  • Welfare Rights Guide by Nigel Griffiths, 1986
  • Rights Guide for Mentally Handicapped People by Nigel Griffiths, 1988
  • Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Nigel Griffiths MP
  • TheyWorkForYou.com – Nigel Griffiths MP
  • Profile in 2007
  • BBC Politics Profile
  • Telegraph Sleaze Inquiry
  • The Scotsman Sex Scandal