Anthony Steen
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Anthony David Steen
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(born 22 July 1939) is a former British Conservative Party politician and barrister. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 to 2010, and the Chairman of the Human Trafficking Foundation. Having represented
Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ab ...
in Devon since 1997, he was previously MP for
South Hams South Hams is a non-metropolitan district, local government district on the south coast of Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Totnes, although the largest town is Ivybridge. The district also contains the towns of Dartmouth, ...
from 1983, and had also been the MP for
Liverpool Wavertree Liverpool Wavertree is a borough constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1997 and every election since has been won by a Labour Party candidate. It has been represented by Paula Barker since 2019. An earlier co ...
between February 1974 and 1983. From 1992 to 1994, he was Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Peter Brooke MP as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Steen is widely acknowledged as one of the leading figures acting to combat human trafficking in the UK, and in 2015 he was appointed a
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
in recognition of his contribution to the fight against
modern slavery Contemporary slavery, also sometimes known as modern slavery or neo-slavery, refers to institutional slavery that continues to exist in the 21st century. Estimates of the number of enslaved people range from around 38 million to 49.6 million, d ...
. In February 2016, Steen and Baron Randall of Uxbridge were appointed Special Envoys on modern slavery to the
Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...
.


Early life

Anthony David Steen was born in July 1939 to Stephen Nicholas Steen (formerly Stein), one time Chairman and President of Smith & Nephew, and Jacqueline Annette, daughter of William (formerly Wolko or Woolf) Slavouski, a Russian fur and skin trader. He attended
Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...
and
University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
where he gained an LLB. He became a
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
in 1962. Steen worked at the Bernhard Baron Settlement as a youth club leader with Sir Basil Henriques, an East London magistrate, from 1959 to 1967. Whilst at the Settlement, in 1964, he founded Task Force, an organisation to enable young people to help the elderly, and served as its director from 1964 to 1968, employing 50 full-time staff. By 1967, Task Force had recruited 15,000 young volunteers, in their teens and twenties, from across London to help with over 7,000 vulnerable elderly and lonely people living within the 32 London boroughs. They offered practical work such as gardening, shopping, redecorating. Task Force worked with the majority of London boroughs and its units have, over the years, since been assimilated either within those local authorities' budgets or joined forces with existing NGOs working with the elderly. The Task Force Trust was launched in 1974 to raise additional money for youth volunteering. he Trust continues to exist and is presently funding projects which link asylum-seekers with local communities. In 1963, Sir John Foster, then MP for Northwich, highlighted Steen's work in an Adjournment Debate in the House of Commons. As a result,
Christopher Chataway Sir Christopher John Chataway (31 January 1931 – 19 January 2014) was a British middle- and long-distance runner, television news broadcaster and Conservative politician. Education Chataway was born in Chelsea, London, the son of James Deny ...
MP, a junior minister for education (from 1962 to 1964), offered government funding for Task Force. The subsequent government, under Prime Minister
Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...
, asked Steen to head up a national equivalent to Task Force. The Young Volunteer Force Foundation (YVFF) was launched in 1968 at 10 Downing Street, with the object of recruiting young people throughout the UK to tackle community and social problems, to encourage altruism, promote people to care for those less fortunate than themselves. YVFF employed around 100 young people. The chairman was
Selwyn Lloyd John Selwyn Brooke Selwyn-Lloyd, Baron Selwyn-Lloyd (28 July 1904 – 17 May 1978), was a British politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons from 1971 to 1976, having previously hel ...
MP, a former Chancellor and Foreign Secretary, and the Vice-Chairmen were
Jo Grimond Joseph Grimond, Baron Grimond, (; 29 July 1913 – 24 October 1993) was a British politician, leader of the Liberal Party for eleven years from 1956 to 1967 and again briefly on an interim basis in 1976. Grimond was a long-term supporter of ...
MP, Leader of the Liberal Party, and Douglas Houghton MP, Chairman of the Labour Party. Projects were launched in England, Scotland and Wales, resulting in greater community involvement and social awareness. The Young Volunteer Force was subsequently renamed the Community Development Foundation. Steen was its first director, serving from 1968 to 1974. It was the largest organisation of its kind, and attracted over £1 million of government grant annually. In 1981, Miles Copeland, Manager of the Police Pop Group, invited Steen to be Chairman of the Outlandos Trust, a charity funded by Police concerts. It provided musical instruments for musically gifted but underprivileged young people. The Trust distributed over £180,000 worth of musical instruments. In 1978, Steen set up 'Thatcher's', a fund-raising tearoom in Liverpool, which was opened by Margaret Thatcher, then Leader of the Opposition. Run by the local Conservative association, it raised money for local charities. From 1991 to 2010, Steen was a Trustee of the Dartington International Summer School, having been an aspiring young pianist. From 1993 to 2012, he was a trustee of Education Extra, a charity set up by Lord Young of Dartington to promote after-school activities in areas of urban deprivation.


Legal career

Steen was a pupil in Heathcote Williams QC, Leonard Caplan QC Chambers, and was offered a tenancy by Sir John Foster MP QC in his Hare Court Chambers. He was called to the Bar in 1962 (Gray's Inn) and practised as a Barrister in landlord and tenant and common law from 1962 to 1974. He worked on the
Court Martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...
's Defence Counsel for the
Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
from 1964 to 1968, lectured in law for the Council of Legal Education, 1964–67, and acted for the National Union of Headteachers from 1968 to 1972. He championed pro-bono legal advice at the Mary Ward Advice Centre. In 1970–71, he served as an adviser to federal and provincial Canadian governments on unemployment and youth issues. He retired from the Bar in 1983.


Parliamentary career

Steen served as Member of Parliament for Liverpool Wavertree from February 1974 to 1983, and for Totnes from 1983 to 2010 (South Hams 1983 to 1997). In the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
, Steen served as a member of the Select Committee on Immigration and Race Relations (1975–79), as Vice-Chairman of the Select Committee on Social Services (1979–81) and subsequently as a member of that committee (1990–95), as Vice-Chairman of the Select Committee on the Environment (1983–85), and subsequently as a member of that committee (1991–94), as Chairman of the Urban and Inner City Committee (1987–92), as a member of the European Scrutiny Committee (1997-2010). He was also Chairman of the group of Conservative MPs elected in the 1974 general elections, and chaired the Conservative backbench committees on youth and young children (1976–79) and urban affairs and new towns (1979–83), and served as Chairman of the Conservative Deregulation Committee (1993–97) and of the West Country Members’ Group (1992–94). He was also Vice Chairman of the All-Party Fisheries Committee (1997-2010), Chairman of the All-Party Group on Trafficking of Women and Children (2006–10), Chairman of the backbench Sane Planning Group (1987–92), and a member of the Parliamentary Population and Development Group (1987–92). He was elected by Conservative MPs as Secretary of the Conservative Backbench
1922 Committee The 1922 Committee, formally known as the Conservative Private Members' Committee, or sometimes simply the 22, is the parliamentary group of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party in the British House of Commons of the United Kingdom, H ...
(2001–10). From 1992 to 1994, Steen served as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Rt Hon Peter Brooke MP when the latter was Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in government of Prime Minister
John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...
. In 1985, Steen piloted the Dartmoor Commons Bill through Parliament. In 1993–94, his three Ten Minute Rule Bills on deregulation contributed to the Major government's Deregulation Initiative. In 1994, he initiated a Ten Minute Rule Bill, the French Language Bill, which proposed to ban the use of words of French origin in the UK, to 'highlight the bizarre situation', as he put it, whereby the French National Assembly and Senate had recently passed legislation banning the use of English words and expressions, such 'software', 'tee-shirt' and 'hamburger', in France. A 'tongue in cheek' initiative, it would have been administered by traffic wardens. In 2000, he initiated a Private Member's Bill on urban regeneration and protection of the countryside. In his role as chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Trafficking of Women and Children, Steen did much to raise awareness of the scourge of
human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...
in the UK.. In February 2010, Steen saw his Private Member's Bill to establish a national Anti-Slavery Day adopted by the House of Commons, as the Anti-Slavery Day Act. Since then there have been two annual events to mark Anti-Slavery Day - on 18 October each year - and to raise awareness of the issue of human trafficking in the UK. In 2011, activities took place across the country, including a reception at 10 Downing Street to mark the occasion, hosted by Prime Minister
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
, whilst the inaugural Human Trafficking Foundation Media Awards, when the Commons Speaker and Home Secretary give awards to journalists, broadcasters and film makers in recognition of their fight to end slavery, took place at Westminster. Viewed as on the centre-left of the Conservative Party, Steen backed
Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham (born 2 July 1940) is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997. A member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...
's three leadership bids in 1997, 2001 and 2005. In 2001, he denounced the supporters of
Iain Duncan Smith Sir George Iain Duncan Smith (born 9 April 1954), often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Le ...
as 'bigots'. Steen describes himself as a 'Euro-pragmatist' and was in favour of the UK continued membership of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, voting to remain in the June 2016 referendum.


Expenses scandal

In May 2009, Steen was involved in the parliamentary expenses scandal. He was reported by ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' to have claimed over £87,000 on his constituency mansion which he designated as his second home. Expenses included items for rabbit fencing, tree surgery (his home is surrounded by 500 trees, he also claimed for their inspection,) woodland consultants and bore hole maintenance. As a result, he announced he would not contest the next general election.


Campaign against Human Trafficking

Since 2005, Steen has concentrated on issues related to modern-day slavery and
human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...
. In 2006, he established the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Human Trafficking of Women and Children, with the then Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin MP as its first president. He campaigned for the UK to sign the European Convention of Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. In October 2007, he was awarded the Children's Champion Award in recognition of his advocacy of the rights of trafficked children in the UK. In 2010, Steen established the Human Trafficking Foundation, an organisation (of which he is executive chairman) that works with NGOs and charities in the sector combatting human trafficking around the UK.The foundation has worked with ECPAT UK and Asociata High Level Group for Children (Romania) to establish 'Parliamentarians Against Human Trafficking', a Europe-wide project to forge a network of parliamentarians across the continent fighting human trafficking. In 2015, Steen served as special envoy to the prime minister and to Parliament's Joint Select Committee on the draft Modern Slavery Bill. In February 2016, Steen and Baron Randall of Uxbridge (then Sir John Randall MP) were appointed special envoys on modern slavery to the mayor of London. In October 2018, Steen was appointed a specialist adviser, representing NGOs and civil society, on a review into the operation of the Modern Slavery Act. In November 2018, he was appointed specialist adviser on modern slavery to the Home Affairs Select Committee in the House of Commons.


Personal life

He married Carolyn Padfield in 1966. She is a
child psychologist Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development, ...
. They have a son, Jason, who has a consultancy in London specialising in aviation and is married with two children, living in London, and a daughter, Xanthe, who is a qualified teacher and has worked as a television presenter and writer in London.


External links


Human Trafficking Foundation
website *

* ttps://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/anthony_steen/totnes TheyWorkForYou.com – Anthony Steen MP
The Public Whip – Anthony Steen MP
voting record
BBC News – Anthony Steen


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steen, Anthony 1939 births Living people Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Jewish British politicians UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 Alumni of University College London Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Totnes