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Humphrey Edward Gregory Atkins, Baron Colnbrook, (12 August 1922 – 4 October 1996) was a British politician and a member of the Conservative Party. He served for 32 years as a Member of Parliament (MP), and served in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher from 1979 to 1982.
In 1944, Atkins married Margaret Spencer-Nairn. They had four children, three daughters and one son. He worked for Nairn's, his wife's family's linoleum business in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, then became a director of a financial advertising agency.
Atkins was the Conservative Chief Whip from 1973 to 1979, and served as a Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 1979 to 1981. In September 1981, he was appointed as Lord Privy Seal, which was a role as the chief government spokesman in the House of Commons for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. This role was necessary because the Foreign Secretary, Lord Carrington, sat in the House of Lords. He resigned in April 1982, along with Lord Carrington, over the Falklands War. CAIN website, Atkins, Humphrey Edward Gregory
Atkins was appointed to the Order of St Michael and St George as a Knight Commander (KCMG) in the 1983 Dissolution Honours. He left the House of Commons in 1987 and was created a life peer on 16 October as Baron Colnbrook, ''of Waltham St Lawrence in the Royal County of Berkshire.
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Political career
Atkins contested the constituency of West Lothian in 1951, and was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Merton and Morden in 1955. UK Parliament website, Merton and Morden He became MP for Spelthorne in 1970. UK Parliament website, Spelthorne
Death
Atkins died from cancer on 4 October 1996, aged 74, at home in Waltham St Lawrence, Berkshire.
External links
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Categories: 1922 Births, 1996 Deaths, Conservative Party Mps For English Constituencies, Conservative Party Life Peers, Royal Navy Personnel Of World War Ii, Knights Commander Of The Order Of St Michael And St George, Secretaries Of State For Northern Ireland, Lords Privy Seal, People Educated At Wellington College, Berkshire, Members Of The Privy Council Of The United Kingdom, Borough Of Spelthorne, Treasurers Of The Household, Uk Mps 1955–1959, Uk Mps 1959–1964, Uk Mps 1964–1966, Uk Mps 1966–1970, Uk Mps 1970–1974, Uk Mps 1974, Uk Mps 1974–1979, Uk Mps 1979–1983, Uk Mps 1983–1987, Military Personnel From Buckinghamshire, Deaths From Cancer In England, People From Waltham St Lawrence, Life Peers Created By Elizabeth Ii, People From Chalfont St Peter, Politicians From Buckinghamshire
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