Sir Peter John Viggers (13 March 1938 – 19 March 2020) was a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician and lawyer who served as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

(MP) for

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite ...

for 36 years, from

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom K ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. He stepped down as a result of the investigation of MPs' expenses.

Early life

Born in

, Hampshire, he was the son of John Sidney Viggers. He was educated at Alverstoke School and

Portsmouth Grammar School The Portsmouth Grammar School is a co-educational independent day school in Portsmouth, England, located in the historic part of Portsmouth. It was founded in 1732 as a boys' school and is located on Portsmouth High Street. History In 17 ...

, a public school in Portsmouth. He studied at Trinity Hall,

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, receiving an MA in History and Law in 1961. He qualified from the

College of Law A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, l ...

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

in 1967. He became a solicitor in 1967.

Career

Military service

As part of

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

, Viggers was commissioned into the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

on 8 January 1957 as an

acting pilot officer Acting pilot officer (A/Plt Off) is the lowest commissioned grade in the Royal Air Force. Acting pilot officer is not an actual military rank, therefore acting pilot officers are regraded to pilot officer instead of receiving a promotion. Unl ...

. He was regraded to

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countrie ...

on 8 January 1958, and promoted to flying officer on 18 May 1958. On 20 April 1958, he was transferred to the Reserve (national service list), ending his active service. He relinquished his commission in the

on 20 July 1963. He then joined the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, Territorial Army, on 20 July 1963 as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

. He was given seniority in that rank from 20 July 1960. He was made

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a bro ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 13 January 1965 before being promoted to that rank on 13 March 1965. On 1 April 1967, he transferred to the

Wessex Brigade The Wessex Brigade was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1948 to 1968. The Brigade administered the regular infantry regiments of the Wessex area of south and south west England. After the Second World War the British Army had f ...

, Territorial Army. At his own request, he also reverted to the rank of lieutenant and was given seniority in that rank from 18 September 1960. He resigned his commission on 31 March 1969 ending his military career.

Politics

Viggers was

for

and lived just a few miles from where he was born. He was first elected in February 1974 and served as industry minister for Northern Ireland under Margaret Thatcher from 1986 to 1989. He left the ministry in 1989 and returned to the backbenches. In 2002, he made headlines by suggesting that the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

adopt a "single European language" to cut down in translation costs.

Duck island scandal

On 21 May 2009, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' reported on Viggers' claims as part of its investigation of MPs' expenses, which it said showed Viggers was paid more than £30,000 for gardening expenses over three years. The paper noted in particular that Viggers had attempted to claim for a "pond feature" worth £1,645 which was identified as a " floating duck island". However, it was unclear whether he had actually been repaid as an official had written "not allowable" next to it. On hearing the details of the story the ''Telegraph'' intended to run, Viggers announced late the previous night "at the direct request" of party leader

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

his intention to stand down at the next election. He also stood down from his role as spokesman for the

Speaker's Committee The Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission (SCEC), or simply the Speaker's Committee, is a body created under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 to scrutinise the Electoral Commission.Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

. On his website, however, he said about expenses: "Personally, I have of course always scrupulously observed the rules". The floating duck house, symbol of the expenses scandal, was later sold at auction. It raised £1,700 which was handed over to the Macmillan Cancer charity. The claim was later referenced in the name of the 2013 farcical political satire '' The Duck House'' based on the

UK parliamentary expenses scandal The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal that emerged in 2009, concerning expenses claims made by members of the British Parliament in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords over the previous year ...

Honours

Viggers was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are t ...

in the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours 'for services to Parliament'. He was knighted in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 14 October 2008 by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

Business interests

From 1970 to 1979, Viggers was chairman and director of banking, oil, hotels, textiles,

pharmaceuticals A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and ...

, and

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...

companies. He was the chairman of

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

-based Tracer Petroleum Corporation from 1996 to 1998, and of Lloyd's Pension Fund from 1996. He was a director of Jakarta-based Emerald Energy plc from April 1998 to 2003.

Personal life

Viggers was a vice-patron of the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

. He was also an honorary treasurer of the

America All Party Parliamentary Group The British-American Parliamentary Group is a group consisting of members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. "The objects of the British-American Parliamentary Group are to promote friendly relations and mutual understanding between Members ...

. For four years he was chairman of governors at

St Vincent College St Vincent College is a co-educational sixth form (16-18) college located in Gosport, Hampshire, England. The majority of students come from the surrounding towns including Gosport, Fareham, Stubbington and Winchester. The nearby Gosport Ferr ...

. In 1993, Viggers nearly drowned after being thrown into the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or (Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kan ...

, without a life jacket, in a

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

race in gale force winds. He credited his survival to "closing my eyes and thinking of

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Hunting ...

". He died on 19 March 2020 at the age of 82.

References

External links

Official site
*
Gosport Conservatives

''The Guardian'' biography
''BBC Politics'' page

The MiP files: Checking out Big Brother!

CBBC Newsround ''Newsround'' (stylised as ''newsround'', and originally called ''John Craven's Newsround'' before his departure in 1989) is a BBC children's news programme, which has run continuously since 4 April 1972. It was one of the world's first tele ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Viggers, Peter 1938 births 2020 deaths Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Knights Bachelor Royal Artillery officers People from Gosport 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 Royal Air Force officers Northern Ireland Office junior ministers 20th-century British Army personnel 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel People educated at The Portsmouth Grammar School Alumni of The University of Law Place of death missing Military personnel from Hampshire