Editing Neil Hamilton (politician)

{{short description|British politician from Wales, former UKIP leader}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    =
| name                = Neil Hamilton
| honorific-suffix    = 
| image              = Neil Hamilton AM (28136586146).jpg
| caption            = Official portrait, 2016
| office             = Honorary president of <br> the [[UK Independence Party]]
| leader             = [[Lois Perry]]<br/>[[Nick Tenconi]] 
| term_start         = 13 May 2024
| term_end           =
| predecessor        = ''Office created''
| successor          = 
| office1              = [[Leader of the UK Independence Party]]
| deputy1              = [[Rebecca Jane]]
| term_start1          = 12 September 2020{{efn|Acting from 12 September 2020 to 18 October 2021.}}
| term_end1            = 13 May 2024
| predecessor1         = [[Freddy Vachha]]
| successor1           = Lois Perry
| office2 = Leader of [[UK Independence Party|UKIP Wales]]
| leader2 = {{Collapsible list|||[[Diane James]]|[[Nigel Farage]] (acting)|[[Paul Nuttall]]|[[Steve Crowther]] (acting)|[[Henry Bolton (British politician)|Henry Bolton]]|[[Gerard Batten]]|[[Piers Wauchope]] (acting)|[[Richard Braine (politician)|Richard Braine]]|[[Pat Mountain (politician)|Pat Mountain]] (acting)|[[Freddy Vachha]]|Himself}}
| term_start2       = 26 September 2016
| term_end2         = 13 April 2024
| predecessor2      = [[Nathan Gill]]
| successor2      = Stan Robinson <br> (Welsh spokesperson)
| office4           = Leader of the [[UK Independence Party]] in the [[Senedd]]
| term_start4       = 7 November 2019
| term_end4         = 29 April 2021
| predecessor4      = [[Gareth Bennett (politician)|Gareth Bennett]]
| successor4        = ''Office abolished''
| term_start5       = 11 May 2016
| term_end5         = 17 May 2018
| predecessor5      = ''Office established''
| successor5      = [[Caroline Jones (politician)|Caroline Jones]]
| office6             = Deputy chair of the [[UK Independence Party]]
| term_start6          = 4 August 2014
| term_end6          = 24 February 2016
| alongside6           = [[Suzanne Evans]]
| predecessor6         = ''Office established''
| successor6           = [[William Legge, 10th Earl of Dartmouth|The Earl of Dartmouth]]
| office7             =  [[Department of Trade and Industry (United Kingdom)|Parliamentary under-secretary of state for corporate affairs]]
| primeminister7      = [[John Major]]
| term_start7         = 14 April 1992
| term_end7          = 25 October 1994
| predecessor7        = [[John Redwood]]
| successor7          = [[Jonathan Evans (politician)|Jonathan Evans]]
| office8             = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br />for [[Tatton (UK Parliament constituency)|Tatton]]
| term_start8         = 9 June 1983
| term_end8           = 8 April 1997
| predecessor8        = [[Boundary Commissions (United Kingdom)|Constituency created]]
| successor8          = [[Martin Bell]]
| office9       = [[Member of the Senedd]]<br /> for [[Mid and West Wales (Senedd electoral region)|Mid and West Wales]]
| term_start9   = 5 May 2016
| term_end9     = 29 April 2021
| predecessor9  = [[William Powell (Liberal Democrat politician)|William Powell]]
| successor9    = [[Jane Dodds]]
<!-- personal -->
| birth_name          = Mostyn Neil Hamilton
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1949|3|9|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Bedwellty]], [[Caerphilly]], Wales
| residence           = [[London]], England<br />[[Wiltshire]], England
| death_date          =
| death_place         =
| nationality         = 
| party               = [[UK Independence Party]] (2002–present)<br />[[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] (1964–2002)
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Christine Hamilton|Christine Holman]]|June 1983}}
| relations           =
| children            = 
| alma_mater          = [[Aberystwyth University]] (BScEcon, MScEcon)<br />[[Corpus Christi College, Cambridge]] ([[LL.M]])<ref name="whoswho"/>
| occupation          =
| profession          = Barrister
| religion            =
| signature           = 
| website             =[http://www.neilhamiltonukip.com/ Official website]
| footnotes           =
}}
'''Mostyn Neil Hamilton''' (born 9 March 1949) is a British politician and former barrister who was [[leader of the UK Independence Party]] (UKIP) from 2020 to 2024. He was the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|member of parliament]] (MP) for [[Tatton (UK Parliament constituency)|Tatton]] from 1983 to 1997 and a UKIP [[Member of the Senedd]] (MS) for [[Mid and West Wales (Senedd electoral region)|Mid and West Wales]] from 2016 to 2021.

Hamilton was elected to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] in the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]]. He was appointed [[Department of Trade and Industry (United Kingdom)|parliamentary under-secretary of state for corporate affairs]] by the prime minister, [[John Major]], in 1992.

In 1994, ''The Guardian'' alleged that Hamilton had taken cash payments in exchange for asking questions in Parliament. Hamilton sued ''The Guardian'' for libel, but settled on the day of the trial. ''The Guardian'' published a headline branding him "A Liar and a Cheat". The [[cash-for-questions affair]] enquiry in 1997 found that Hamilton had taken bribes. He subsequently lost a libel case on the matter. Hamilton became widely associated with sleaze,<ref name="Sleaze">{{cite news |last=Sengupta |first=Kim |title=The Hamilton Affair: Fayed demolishes Hamilton in the sleaze trial of the century |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-hamilton-affair-fayed-demolishes-hamilton-in-the-sleaze-trial-of-the-century-1133964.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-hamilton-affair-fayed-demolishes-hamilton-in-the-sleaze-trial-of-the-century-1133964.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |work=The Independent |date=22 December 1999}}</ref> and was forced to resign his ministerial role. He was [[Tatton in the 1997 general election|defeated]] by an independent candidate, [[Martin Bell]], in the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]].

Hamilton left the Conservative Party in 2002 and joined UKIP. In 2011, he returned to politics and was elected to the national executive committee of UKIP. Following his election to the National Assembly for Wales, he was UKIP's assembly group leader from 2016 to 2018 and again from 2019 to 2021. He became leader of UKIP Wales in 2016. In September 2020, Hamilton was named acting leader of UKIP, following the suspension from the party of the previous leader, [[Freddy Vachha]]. Hamilton was defeated at the [[2021 Senedd election]]. In October 2021, Hamilton was elected UKIP leader<ref name=hamilton>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-58968868|work=BBC News|title=UKIP: Ex-Conservative minister Neil Hamilton elected party leader|date=19 October 2021}}</ref> and served until May 2024.

==Early life==
Hamilton was born in Fleur-de-Lis, a [[Gwent (county)|Gwent]] [[pit village]] near [[Blackwood, Caerphilly|Blackwood]], Wales. In 1960 he moved to Ammanford.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.neilhamiltonukip.com/about-neil | title=About Neil}}</ref> His father was a chief engineer for the [[British Coal|National Coal Board]]. His grandfathers were [[coal miners]]. He grew up in [[Ammanford]] in Carmarthenshire and joined the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] in 1964, at the age of 15.

===Education===
Hamilton attended [[Ysgol Dyffryn Aman|Amman Valley Grammar School]] in Ammanford. He received a BScEcon degree in economics and politics from the [[University College of Wales, Aberystwyth]] in 1970, and an MScEcon degree in economics and politics in 1975.<ref>[http://connect.aber.ac.uk/ Aber Connect:] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506050931/http://connect.aber.ac.uk/ |date=6 May 2012 }} Mr M N Hamilton.</ref> While at Aberystwyth, he was active in the [[Federation of Conservative Students]]; he was a member between 1968 and 1974. In 1973, as a representative of the Federation of Conservative Students, Hamilton attended a conference of the [[neo-fascist]] [[Italian Social Movement]] (MSI).<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/sr180/notes.htm |title=Notes of the month: Parliamentary privilege |journal=Socialist Review| issue=180|date=November 1994| publisher=SWP |access-date=5 May 2012}}</ref> Hamilton went on to study at [[Corpus Christi College, Cambridge]],<ref>''BBC News'' Election 97 ({{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/election97/candidates/371.htm |title=Neil Hamilton - Con|access-date=4 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030701114207/http://www.bbc.co.uk/election97/candidates/371.htm |archive-date=1 July 2003}}.) Accessed 23 May 2014.</ref> where he attained a postgraduate law degree.<ref name="whoswho">[http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U18789 ‘HAMILTON, (Mostyn) Neil’], ''Who's Who 2016'', A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2015; online edn, November 2015. Accessed 10 May 2016.</ref>

===Student activity and early political career===
At the 1970 Conservative Party conference, Hamilton called for mass [[privatisation]]. The following year, he opposed the plan for Britain to join the [[European Communities]]. In 1972, after several years' membership, Hamilton was elected to the executive council of the [[Conservative Monday Club]]. He left the Club in 1973, and stood as chairman of the [[Federation of Conservative Students]] against [[David Davis (British politician)|David Davis]], but lost. In the early 1970s, Hamilton was the founder of the [[Eldon League]], a right-wing social organisation given to having picnics and dinners 'and having a good time'.<ref>Guy Rais, "Goose-step not backing Nazism says Tory MP", ''Daily Telegraph'', 16 October 1986.</ref> He appointed himself its "Grand Imperial Prior" and called for the abolition of the internal combustion engine and plastic.<ref name="Eldon">{{cite news |date=26 May 1985 |title=Eldon League Wants To Abolish 20th Century |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/61059246/eldon-league/ |work=Logansport Pharos-Tribune |agency=United Press International |page=7}}</ref> Hamilton stood as the Conservative parliamentary candidate in the [[February 1974 United Kingdom general election|February 1974 general election]] in [[Abertillery (UK Parliament constituency)|Abertillery]]<ref>[http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge74a/i01.htm UK General Election results February 1974] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006132154/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge74a/i01.htm |date=6 October 2014 }} at ''politicalresources.net''.</ref> and in the [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979 general election]] in [[Bradford North (UK Parliament constituency)|Bradford North]],<ref>[http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge79/i04.htm UK General Election results May 1979] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811162703/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge79/i04.htm |date=11 August 2011 }} at ''politicalresources.net''.</ref> but failed on both occasions.

===Teaching===
Hamilton was a teacher at [[St John's College, Portsmouth|St John's College]] in [[Southsea]] between 1973 and 1976. In his spare time he studied for his [[bar examination|bar practice exam]]. He also taught [[constitutional law]] at [[Hatfield Polytechnic]] between September 1978 and July 1982.

===Legal career===
From September 1979, Hamilton practised as a [[barrister]]. He specialised in [[Tax law|taxation]], trust and property law. However, after he lost his parliamentary seat in 1997, he vowed never to return to "that constipated profession".<ref>Chris Moncrieff and Vik Iyer, [http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/hamiltons-career-came-to-crashing-end-over-cash-for-questions-scandal-26076715.html "Hamilton's career came to crashing end over cash for questions scandal"], ''The Irish Independent'', 11 August 2001.</ref> In April 2001, Hamilton said, "If I am bankrupt [which he was the following month],<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1344367.stm "Hamilton declared bankrupt"], ''BBC News'', 22 May 2001<br />[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/may/22/hamiltonvalfayed.conservatives "Hamilton declared bankrupt"], ''The Guardian'', 22 May 2001.</ref> I won't be able to return to the bar but even if I was able to do so, I couldn't contain myself from saying what I thought to some of the judges."<ref>[http://bankruptcyandinsolvency.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/register-of-potential-and-actual.html "Register of Potential and Actual Peerage Cases in which the Debtor is a Member of the House of Commons including a Record of Returns Sent"], ''Insolvency Law'' (Jordan Publishing), 22 April 2010.</ref> Hamilton was also European and Parliamentary Affairs Director of the [[Institute of Directors]] during this time.{{when|date=May 2016}}<ref name="ReferenceA">David Leigh & Ed Vulliamy, ''Sleaze, the Corruption of Parliament'', pages 48/49, {{ISBN|185702-694-2}}</ref>

==Political career==
===Parliamentary career===
On 12 March 1983, Hamilton was selected as the Conservative candidate for the newly created [[Tatton (UK Parliament constituency)|Tatton constituency]]. Three months later, at the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]] Hamilton was elected to [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] as [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] for Tatton. On entering the Commons, Hamilton was appointed as an officer of the backbench committee on Trade and Industry under the chairmanship of [[Michael Grylls]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

====Leaded petrol====
In 1984, against party policy, Hamilton opposed the abandonment of [[leaded petrol]] in Britain. He argued there was no evidence that leaded petrol was damaging the environment, or health, and that jobs would be lost in his constituency if leaded petrol was banned.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1984/dec/04/petrol-lead-and-benzene-content |title=Petrol (Lead and Benzene Content) |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|volume=1984 | date= 4 December 1984 |issue=69 |publisher=House of Commons |access-date=5 May 2012}}</ref>

====Western Goals Institute====
Hamilton resumed his activities as a supporter of pressure groups, including the [[Western Goals Institute]], led by ex-Young Monday Club Chairman, Andrew V. R. Smith and attracting the support of other parliamentarians such as Sir [[Patrick Wall]], [[Bill Walker (Scottish Conservative politician)|Bill Walker]], [[Nicholas Winterton]] and the Revd. [[Martin Smyth]]. He was on their parliamentary advisory board.<ref name="Labour Research 1988, p.2">''Labour Research'', November 1988, p. 2.</ref> The Western Goals Institute achieved notoriety by inviting [[Jean-Marie Le Pen]] (leader of the French National Front) and [[Alessandra Mussolini]] ([[Benito Mussolini]]'s granddaughter, a Deputy sitting for the Italian neo-fascist MSI) to address fringe meetings at the 1992 Conservative Party conference. The [[Chairman of the Conservative Party|Party Chairman]] [[Sir Norman Fowler]] was outraged, and said the Conservative Party was not related to the Western Goals Institute. In the event the meetings were cancelled, as neither Le Pen nor Mussolini could come to Britain.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/the-labour-party-in-blackpool-antifascists-plan-tory-protest-1554511.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/the-labour-party-in-blackpool-antifascists-plan-tory-protest-1554511.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |title=Anti-fascists plan Tory protest |work=The Independent|date=30 September 1992 |access-date=21 July 2016}}</ref>

Hamilton also lent his support to the [[No Turning Back (political group)|No Turning Back Group]] organised by his friend [[Michael Brown (British politician)|Michael Brown]] MP. Other MPs active in the No Turning Back Group included [[Michael Portillo]], [[Peter Lilley]], [[Alan Duncan]] and [[Gerald Howarth]].<ref name="David Leigh pages 76">David Leigh & Ed Vulliamy, ''Sleaze, the Corruption of Parliament'', page 76, {{ISBN|185702-694-2}}</ref>

====Ian Greer Associates====
In 1985, he began working for [[Ian Greer Associates]], lobbying on behalf of [[U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company|US Tobacco]].<ref>David Leigh & Ed Vulliamy, ''Sleaze, the Corruption of Parliament'', pp. 65/70, {{ISBN|185702-694-2}}.</ref> Hamilton, together with Michael Brown, became an enthusiastic supporter of US Tobacco's product [[Skoal Bandits]], a tea-bag type of pouch of tobacco designed for chewing. The product was believed to cause serious risk of [[oral cancer]], particularly for minors, and the government was inclined to ban its import. Hamilton said he supported the introduction of Skoal Bandits on [[libertarian]] grounds, and lobbied ministers (including [[Edwina Currie]] and [[David Mellor]]) to allow its introduction. The House of Commons Select Committee on Standards investigation stated: "Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Brown had a number of contacts with Ministers and officials as part of their campaign to influence Government policy on Skoal Bandits" and said that there was "no evidence ... that any appropriate declaration was made".<ref>{{cite web|author=The Committee Office, House of Commons |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmselect/cmstnprv/030i/sp0133.htm |title=Hansard: Select Committee on Standards and Privileges First Report: VI. SUMMARIZING THE EVIDENCE – Continued 7. ALLEGATIONS RELATING TO NON-DECLARATION OF INTERESTS b. The Campaign relating to Skoal Bandits |website=Publications.parliament.uk |date=8 July 1997 |access-date=21 July 2016}}</ref> Hamilton was obliged to concede he had been wrong to make no reference to the payment "when I went on those meetings with Ministers".{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

====Strategy Network International====
In June 1990, Hamilton was recruited by the right-wing Monday Club activist [[Derek Laud]] to work for Strategy Network International, a firm specifically created to lobby against anti-apartheid movements and economic sanctions and for [[apartheid South Africa]]'s 'transitional government' of [[Namibia]] set up in defiance of UN Resolution 435 on Namibian independence. Derek Laud was an ex-Monday Club activist and protégé of Hamilton's friend Michael Brown, who offered Hamilton a fee of £8,000 per year. Hamilton failed to register the paid-for consultancy. Hamilton took free trips to South Africa in the company of Brown.<ref>Patricia Wynn Davies, [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/the-attack-on-sleaze-how-apartheid-regime-set-out-to-woo-tories-patricia-wynn-davies-tells-the-story-of-the-firm-which-gave-mps-a-south-african-perspective-1444979.html "The Attack on Sleaze: How apartheid regime set out to woo Tories"], ''The Independent'', 26 October 1994<br />- David Leigh & Ed Vulliamy, ''Sleaze, the Corruption of Parliament'', page 136, {{ISBN|185702-694-2}}<br />- [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmselect/cmstnprv/030i/sp0129.htm Select Committee on Standards and Privileges First Report iv. STRATEGY NETWORK INTERNATIONAL], ''Hansard''.</ref>

====Thatcher leadership contest====
Thatcher appointed Hamilton a [[whip (politics)|whip]] in July 1990. In November 1990, [[Michael Heseltine]] initiated a [[1990 Conservative Party leadership election|leadership challenge]] to [[Margaret Thatcher]]. Hamilton was told by the Chief Whip to stay neutral, but says he ignored this instruction. "I naturally ignored this advice and fed all my intelligence into her campaign." He also said that he made the fateful suggestion that she interview each cabinet member individually, believing they would lack the resolve to tell her to her face that she must go. "Unfortunately, I had miscalculated."<ref>Neil Hamilton in Iain Dale (ed) ''Memories of Margaret Thatcher: A Portrait, By Those Who Knew Her Best'' (Biteback Publishing, 2013) {{ISBN|184954607X}}</ref> Hamilton strongly encouraged Thatcher to persist. At a meeting where [[Peter Lilley]] argued that Thatcher could not survive, Hamilton subjected him to a barrage of "sarcasm and heckling".<ref name="Ref-1">Bruce Anderson, ''John Major – Making of the Prime Minister'' (1991).</ref> On 21 November 1990, Hamilton and like-minded colleagues met Thatcher at [[Downing Street]]. Thatcher did subsequently resign, and in the next round of the election Hamilton voted for [[John Major]].<ref>Christine Hamilton's autobiography – 2005.</ref>

====Minister in Major Government====
From 1992 to 1994, Hamilton was the Minister for [[Deregulation]] and [[Corporate Affairs]] in [[John Major]]'s government. He came under pressure to step down after the resignation of another minister, [[Tim Smith (British politician)|Tim Smith]], on 19 October 1994, after Smith had admitted to taking money in the [[cash-for-questions affair]]. Facing the same allegations,<ref>David Hencke, [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/conservatives/story/0,,536101,00.html Tory MPs were paid to plant questions says Harrods chief] in [[The Guardian]] dated 20 October 1994</ref> Hamilton denied them and issued proceedings for [[libel]], but he resigned on 26 October at the insistence of [[John Major]].<ref>"The individual responsibility of ministers" in David Pollard, Neil Parpworth, David Hughes,  ''Constitutional and Administrative Law: Text with Materials'' (Oxford University Press, 2007), [https://books.google.com/books?id=u3BqMbyWXeMC&pg=PA171  p. 171]</ref>

===Approach to the Maastricht Treaty===
Denmark rejected the [[Maastricht Treaty]] on 2 June 1992.<ref>''Western Europe 2003''
(Europa Europa Publications, Psychology Press, 2002), [https://books.google.com/books?id=M9QYndAPmuQC&pg=PA117  p. 117]</ref> Like some other Conservative ministers, Hamilton had also opposed the treaty and was a member of the Eurosceptic "No Turning Back" group.<ref>Anthony Forster, ''Euroscepticism in Contemporary British Politics: Opposition to Europe in the British Conservative and Labour Parties Since 1945'' (Psychology Press, 2002), [https://books.google.com/books?id=2JGGhjhGWiYC&pg=PA89  p. 89]</ref> Despite this, Hamilton remained, for a time, loyal to the Major government which endorsed the treaty. Hamilton urged his colleagues not to resign over the Treaty and other issues.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

No longer a minister at the time of the [[1995 Conservative Party leadership election]], Hamilton did not support Major. Initially a supporter of [[Michael Portillo]], when Portillo did not contest the leadership Hamilton voted instead for [[John Redwood]]. Hamilton also sent condolences to Portillo in 2001, when he failed to win [[2001 Conservative Party leadership election|that year's leadership election]].<ref>Michael Brown, [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/i-was-there-when-they-first-met-he-delighted-in-showing-off-she-was-the-centre-of-attention-9146058.html%3famp "I was there when they first met – he delighted in showing off, she was the centre of attention"], ''[[The Independent]]''. 13 August 2001.</ref>

===Loss of Tatton===
Prior to the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]], Hamilton determined to try to retain his parliamentary seat. His majority at the 1992 general election had been almost 16,000 votes. In 1997, Tatton was the fourth safest Conservative seat in Britain. Hamilton was under investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner as part of the ''cash for questions'' enquiry and some party members thought he should stand down after the collapse of his case against ''The Guardian''.<ref>The 1997 General Election edited by D. T. Denver, p. 83. {{ISBN|0714649090}}.</ref> Disquiet in the local association became public, but the majority gave him the benefit of the doubt.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/archive/1996/10/09/5325758.NEIL_Hamilton_should_step_down_as_Knutsford_s_MP_now__a_true_blue_Tory_argued_this_week_/?ref=arc |title=Neil Hamilton should step down as Knutsford's MP now, a true blue Tory argued this week |work=Warrington Guardian |date=9 October 1996|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725171525/http://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/archive/1996/10/09/5325758.NEIL_Hamilton_should_step_down_as_Knutsford_s_MP_now__a_true_blue_Tory_argued_this_week_/?ref=arc |archivedate=25 July 2014}}</ref>
Hamilton resisted the pressure from senior Conservatives and [[Conservative Central Office]] to stand down. [[Jeremy Paxman]] states that Conservative Central Office "begged him not to stand, but in a gesture of overweening arrogance, he refused to go quietly."<ref>Jeremy Paxman, ''The Political Animal'', 2002, {{ISBN|9780141032962}}</ref>
On 8 April 1997, Hamilton was chosen as the Conservative candidate for Tatton (182 for, 35 against, 100 abstained). ''[[The Observer]]'' commissioned ICM polls in the constituencies of the three Conservative candidates tainted by scandal and seeking re-election: Hamilton, [[Allan Stewart (politician)|Allan Stewart]] and [[Piers Merchant]]. Both Stewart and Merchant were found to have support consistent with their party's standing, but in Tatton "there was massive hostility to Hamilton".<ref>Bruce Page, ''The Murdoch Archipelago'', 2003, {{ISBN|9781849837798}}.</ref>

When [[Martin Bell]], the BBC war correspondent, announced he would stand as an independent candidate in Tatton, the Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates for the area stood down in order to give Bell a clear run against Hamilton. Bell defeated Hamilton, winning by a majority of over 11,000 votes with a swing of 48%. Although Hamilton vowed to return to parliament, this defeat marked the end of his political career in the Conservative Party. In March 1999, [[George Osborne]] was selected by the Tatton Conservative Association to be their candidate for the following general election.

===William Hague's leadership===
Following Hamilton's ejection from Tatton and the Conservative defeat in the 1997 election, the new party leader, [[William Hague]], sought to distance the Conservative Party from the disgraced Hamilton and asked Hamilton to stay away from the party conference.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1485089.stm "Profile: Neil Hamilton"], ''BBC News'', 10 August 2001.</ref>

===UK Independence Party===
In September 2011, Hamilton attended the annual conference of the [[UK Independence Party]] (UKIP). The party's leader [[Nigel Farage]] pledged to support him in the election for the National Executive Committee.<ref name="ukip">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14857078|title=Neil Hamilton joins UKIP's Nigel Farage show|work=BBC News|date=9 September 2011|access-date=12 September 2011}}</ref> Hamilton was elected to the committee on 1 November 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukip.org/content/latest-news/2531-hamilton-back-with-nec-post|title=Hamilton back with NEC post|publisher=UKIP|date=1 November 2011|access-date=2 November 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130416005942/http://www.ukip.org/content/latest-news/2531-hamilton-back-with-nec-post|archive-date=16 April 2013}}</ref> He later become deputy chairman of the party.<ref>[http://www.ukip.org/the-party/nec "NEC"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203085659/http://www.ukip.org/the-party/nec |date=3 February 2014 }}, UKIP.</ref> Hamilton was demoted from his role as campaign director in April 2014.<ref>Lucy Fisher, [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/apr/19/neil-hamilton-ukip-demoted-sleaze-fears "Ukip demotes Neil Hamilton as party fears over sleaze grow."] ''The Observer'', p24, 20 April 2014. Accessed 23 May 2014.</ref> In the [[2014 United Kingdom local elections|May 2014 local elections]], he stood as a UKIP candidate in the St Mary's Park ward of [[Wandsworth London Borough Council]] and finished 8th of the 9 candidates with 396 votes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/200327/election_results/1781/borough_council_elections_may_2014/15|title=St Mary's Park Ward results|publisher=Wandsworth London Borough Council}}</ref>
====Member of the Senedd====
In the [[2016 National Assembly for Wales election]], Hamilton ran as UKIP's candidate for [[Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Senedd constituency)|Carmarthen East and Dinefwr]], receiving 3,474 votes (11.7%).<ref>{{cite web|title = Election results for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, 6 May 2016|url = https://business.senedd.wales/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?ID=258|website = Senedd Cymru|access-date = 2 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title = Carmarthen East and Dinefwr - Welsh Assembly constituency - Election 2016|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/wales-constituencies/W09000015|work = BBC News|access-date = 2 February 2025}}</ref>
He also stood as the lead candidate in the [[Mid and West Wales (National Assembly for Wales electoral region)|Mid and West Wales Region]], becoming one of seven UKIP candidates to win a seat through the Regional List system.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2016-wales-36207410 "Welsh Election 2016: Labour just short as UKIP wins seats"], ''BBC News'', 6 May 2016.</ref> 

On 10 May 2016, UKIP's AMs voted him their leader in the Welsh Assembly, defeating [[Nathan Gill]]. The UKIP leader, [[Nigel Farage]], criticised the move as an "unjust act of deep ingratitude".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-36251304|title=UKIP's Farage attacks Hamilton's leadership victory|website=BBC News|date=10 May 2016}}</ref> Hamilton dismissed Farage's criticism as "irrelevant",<ref>[http://www.itv.com/news/wales/update/2016-05-10/nathan-gill-very-disappointed-and-farage-criticism-irrelevant-neil-hamilton/ "Nathan Gill 'very disappointed' and Farage criticism 'irrelevant' - Neil Hamilton"], ''ITV News'', 10 May 2016.</ref> accused him of "throwing toys out of pram"<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-36262353 "'Farage throwing toys out of pram', says Neil Hamilton"], ''BBC News'', 10 May 2016.</ref> and referred to him as "the MEP for the South East of England".<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-36251304 "UKIP's Farage attacks Hamilton's leadership victory"], ''BBC News'', 10 May 2016.</ref> 
During his maiden speech in the Welsh Assembly, he was accused of making sexist remarks towards female politicians after referring to [[Kirsty Williams]] and [[Leanne Wood]] as "concubines" in a "harem".<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-36320917 "Sexism row over Neil Hamilton's maiden assembly speech"], ''BBC News'', 18 May 2016.</ref>

In leaked emails, he was accused by UKIP's biggest donor, [[Arron Banks]], of being a "corrupt old Tory".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nathan-gill-ukips-leader-in-wales-has-left-his-party-grouping-in-the-welsh-assembly-a7195426.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nathan-gill-ukips-leader-in-wales-has-left-his-party-grouping-in-the-welsh-assembly-a7195426.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |title=Ukip's leader in Wales withdraws himself from his party in the Welsh Assembly|website=The Independent|author=Tom Peck |access-date=17 August 2016|date=17 August 2016}}</ref> Nathan Gill subsequently left the UKIP group in the assembly to sit as an independent,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-36917327|title=UKIP MEP Nathan Gill told to quit as successor is 'ready'|date=29 July 2016|newspaper=BBC News|access-date=28 October 2016}}</ref> resulting in Neil Hamilton becoming UKIP's Leader in Wales in September 2016.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-37105782|title=Nathan Gill leaves UKIP assembly group to sit as independent|date=17 August 2016|newspaper=BBC News|access-date=28 October 2016}}</ref> 

Hamilton caused further controversy during a debate on the effects of Brexit in Wales. When [[Eluned Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Ely|Eluned Morgan]] claimed that the economic consequences of Brexit would be hardest for those who could least afford it, Hamilton remarked that "suicide's an option". He was instructed by the presiding officer to apologise for the remark. Hamilton initially refused, saying, "What is there to apologise for?" and "What was unparliamentary about the remark?" He did eventually apologise, saying, "I apologise for whatever remark I am supposed to have made."<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-39437574 "Neil Hamilton apology for Brexit 'suicide' remark"], ''BBC News'', 29 March 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.</ref>

At the [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017 general election]], he received 985 votes (2.4%) in [[Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (UK Parliament constituency)|Carmarthen East and Dinefwr]].<ref>{{cite web|title = Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Constituency) - MPs and Lords|url = https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3394/election/377|website = UK. Parliament|access-date = 2 February 2025}}</ref>

In April 2018, Hamilton said that "the idea that [[Enoch Powell]] was some kind of uniquely racist villain is absolute nonsense". Commenting on Powell's [[Rivers of Blood speech|'Rivers of Blood' speech]] about mass immigration, Hamilton said that Powell was wrong about predicting racial violence, but had been "proved right by events" in terms of social change that was "never desired by the majority of the British people". Hamilton said that Powell "changed politics by articulating the fears and resentments of millions and millions of people who are being ignored by the establishment". In response, the leader of [[Plaid Cymru]], [[Leanne Wood]], accused Hamilton of "keeping Powell's racist rhetoric going". Labour AM [[Hefin David]] described Hamilton's comments as "outrageous".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-43783172|title=UKIP Wales leader defends Enoch Powell|date=16 April 2018|work=BBC News|access-date=17 April 2018}}</ref>

Hamilton was ousted as leader of UKIP in the National Assembly on 17 May 2018 and was replaced by [[Caroline Jones (politician)|Caroline Jones]].<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-44152343 | title=Neil Hamilton out as UKIP assembly leader| work=BBC News| date=17 May 2018}}</ref>
In August 2018, UKIP leader [[Gerard Batten]] MEP announced that there would be a [[2018 UKIP Wales leadership election|membership ballot for the leadership of UKIP in Wales]]. The eventual winner would become the UKIP Assembly Group Leader and ultimately the party's main spokesperson for Wales. Hamilton, Jones and another UKIP Assembly Member in Wales, [[Gareth Bennett (politician)|Gareth Bennett]], stood in the election, which was won by Bennett. Hamilton said he could "happily" work with Mr Bennett, but Jones said she had "a lot of thinking to do". Batten said he expected his Welsh Assembly members to now "work together for UKIP's cause and get on with the job."<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-45119893 "UKIP Wales members elect Gareth Bennett as assembly leader"], ''BBC News'', 10 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.</ref>

In April 2019, Hamilton was the UKIP candidate in the [[2019 Newport West by-election|by-election for Newport West]]. He came third behind the Labour and Conservative candidates with 2,023 votes (8.6%).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/apr/05/newport-west-byelection-labour-retains-seat-ruth-jones-brexit|title=Newport West byelection: Labour retains seat amid Brexit chaos|author=Steven Morris|date=5 April 2019|website=The Guardian|access-date=5 April 2019}}</ref>

Hamilton was the only MS not to live in Wales.<ref>{{cite news|title= The Welsh AM who claimed £9,000 to get to Cardiff Bay from his home in England |url= https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/neil-hamilton-ukip-expenses-assembly-17710690 |author= Will Hayward |work=Wales Online|date= 10 February 2020 | access-date= 14 February 2020 }}</ref> By 2021 he was UKIP's only representative at any level above local government.

On 12 September 2020, he was appointed acting leader, replacing [[Freddy Vachha]].<ref name = "Interim">{{cite web|title=Neil Hamilton Appointed Interim Leader of UKIP|url=https://www.ukip.org/neil-hamilton-appointed-interim-leader-of-ukip|date=14 September 2020|access-date=2 April 2021|publisher=UKIP}}</ref>

In the [[2021 Senedd election]] Hamilton moved to the [[South Wales East]] region. He criticised [[BBC Wales]] for excluding UKIP from the main leaders' debates, with Hamilton instead being invited to a separate debate alongside [[Reform UK]] and the [[Wales Green Party]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Chandler|first=Andy|date=21 April 2021|title=Neil Hamilton brands BBC excluding UKIP from main leaders' debates "outrageous"|url=https://www.herald.wales/politics/neil-hamilton-brands-bbc-excluding-ukip-from-main-leaders-debates-outrageous/|access-date=5 October 2021|website=Herald Wales}}</ref> Hamilton contested the constituency of [[Islwyn (Senedd constituency)|Islwyn]] but came sixth with just 507 votes.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2021/wales/constituencies/W09000036 |title=Islwyn - Welsh Parliament constituency |work=BBC News |accessdate=8 May 2021}}</ref> He was also top of the UKIP list for that region but was not appointed as an additional member either.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2021/wales/regions/W10000008 |work=BBC News |accessdate=8 May 2021 |title=South Wales East}}</ref> Meanwhile the party lost all its other Senedd seats.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/election-results-labour-remains-in-power-in-wales-after-winning-working-senedd-majority-12300197|title=Election results: Labour remains in power in Wales after winning working Senedd majority|author=Greg Heffer|website=Sky News|access-date=8 May 2021}}</ref>

====UKIP leader====
After a period as acting leader, Hamilton was elected as leader in October 2021, receiving 498 out of 631 votes cast (78.9%) against challenger John Poynton.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ukip.org/elections-2021|title=2021 NEC and Leadership Election - The Results!|publisher=UKIP|access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref>

In December 2023, the anti-racism magazine, ''Searchlight'', reported that Hamilton would step down as UKIP leader in 2024 in order to spend more time with his family.<ref> {{cite news |url=https://www.searchlightmagazine.com/2023/12/ukip-in-desperate-moves-to-shed-reputation-for-sleaze-and-crookery/ |work=Searchlight |title=UKIP in desperate moves to shed reputation for sleaze and crookery |date=17 December 2023 |access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> Following the election of [[Lois Perry]] as UKIP leader in May 2024, he was appointed honorary president of the party.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 June 2024 |title=Party Leadership Update |url=https://www.ukip.org/party-leadership-update |access-date=29 June 2024 |publisher=UKIP}}</ref>

==Legal cases==
===BBC libel case (1984–1986)===
On 30 January 1984, a ''[[Panorama (British TV programme)|Panorama]]'' programme, "[[Maggie's Militant Tendency]]", was broadcast. The programme made a number of allegations regarding Hamilton's past and more recent activities. These included his attending and giving a fraternal speech in 1972 to the [[Italian Social Movement]] (MSI), an Italian neo-fascist party led by one of [[Benito Mussolini]]'s ex-ministers, [[Giorgio Almirante]],<ref>[http://www.jta.org/1973/05/24/archive/parliament-debate-on-recommendation-to-strip-msi-leader-of-his-immunity "Parliament Debate on Recommendation to Strip Msi Leader of His Immunity"], ''JTA'', 24 May 1973.</ref> Hamilton's membership of the [[Eldon League]], and his involvement with the Powellite faction of the [[Monday Club]] and the far-right activist, [[George Kennedy Young]], the former Deputy Director of MI6 and Chairman of the [[Society for Individual Freedom]]. The programme also made the claim that Hamilton gave a [[Nazi salute]] in Berlin while "messing around" on a parliamentary visit in August 1983. A Nazi salute is a criminal offence in the Federal Republic of Germany.<ref>Robert Kahn, ''Holocaust Denial and the Law: A Comparative Study'', p. 15 (2004). {{ISBN|9781403964762}}.</ref> In October 1986, Hamilton and his fellow MP [[Gerald Howarth]] (one of his closest friends), sued the [[BBC]] for libel along with [[Philip Pedley|Phil Pedley]], a former chairman of the [[National Young Conservatives]], who had appeared on the programme.<ref name="guardian.co.uk">{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/hamilton/article/0,2763,195592,00.html |work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Who will listen to his story now? | first=Jamie | last=Wilson | date=22 December 1999 | access-date=26 March 2010}}</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper highlighted Hamilton's admission in ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' in an article he wrote after the court case that he did give "a little salute with two fingers to his nose to give the impression of a toothbrush moustache."<ref name="guardian.co.uk"/>

The prosecution was financed by [[Sir James Goldsmith]]<ref>[[Marcel Berlins]], [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/jan/31/hamiltonvalfayed.law "Price of backing a loser"], ''The Guardian'', 31 January 2000.</ref> and [[Taki Theodoracopulos|Taki]], ''The Spectator'' columnist. [[David Davis (British politician)|David Davis]], then a director of [[Tate and Lyle]], persuaded that company to donate a sum to the cause. [[Lord Harris of High Cross]] (who helped to finance Hamilton's failed libel action against Mohammed Al-Fayed 13 years later), also raised approximately £100,000.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-hamilton-affair-the-cost--rightwing-donors-united-by-their-loathing-of-fayed-1134008.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-hamilton-affair-the-cost--rightwing-donors-united-by-their-loathing-of-fayed-1134008.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |work=The Independent | location=London | title=The Hamilton Affair: The cost – Right-wing donors united by their loathing of Fayed | first=Kim | last=Sengupta | date=22 December 1999 | access-date=20 May 2010}}</ref>

During the case, Hamilton said he saw himself as being "the [[Mike Yarwood]] of the [[Federation of Conservative Students]]"<ref>''Daily Telegraph'', 17 October 1986.</ref> and that he frequently did impressions of public figures such as [[Frankie Howerd]], [[Harold Wilson]], [[Edward Heath]], [[Charles De Gaulle]] and [[Enoch Powell]]. Hamilton said he had coloured himself [[blackface|black]] in 1982 to look like [[Idi Amin]] and dressed as Canon James Owen on a boat on the [[River Cam]].<ref>''The Daily Telegraph'', October 1986.</ref> He said he would have twenty character witnesses: "My main character witness was going to be [[Norman St John Stevas]]."<ref name=STNH>Neil Hamilton, ''Sunday Times'' News in Focus feature, 26 October 1986.</ref> In a ''Sunday Times'' article, Hamilton denied there was any malicious intent behind the salute. He also pointed out that one person present at the incident, [[Julian Lewis]], was a Jew and that a "number of his relatives were killed by the Nazis during the war".<ref name=STNH/>

====BBC collapse====
In mid-trial and without cross-examining Hamilton, the BBC capitulated on 21 October 1986. The Director-General, [[Alasdair Milne]], stated he was instructed to do so by the Governors of the BBC. The corporation was directed to pay the men's legal costs. Hamilton and Howarth were awarded £20,000 each and in the next edition of ''Panorama'', on 27 October, the BBC made an unreserved apology.<ref>''The Times'', 28 October 1986.</ref> The settlement of the case raised serious concerns regarding political pressure and the intimidation of witnesses. Before the BBC defence lawyers had an opportunity to interrogate Hamilton, the Board of Governors met during the trial and instructed the BBC Board of Management to settle the case: "the BBC executives at this meeting expressed serious doubts about the decision. It was pointed out the BBC had not even begun to put its case".<ref>Simon Freeman and Henry Porter, "BBC to settle Tory libel case", ''Sunday Times'', 19 October 1986.</ref>

The National Young Conservatives hinted at a stitch-up at the BBC. The chairman, [[Richard Fuller (Bedford MP)|Richard Fuller]], told the Eastern Area Young Conservatives: "I find it strange that they have apparently decided to settle now, when things appeared to be going well."<ref name=FiddickBarker>Peter Fiddick and Dennis Barker, "BBC in crisis over libel case deal", ''The Guardian'', 20 October 1986.</ref> Attention focused on the actions of Malcolm McAlpine, a cousin of [[Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green|Alistair McAlpine]] the treasurer of the Conservative Party: "He denied yesterday that he had promised Mr Hamilton that he could 'deliver' the governors behind a settlement".<ref name=FiddickBarker/>

====Witness allegations====
In the immediate aftermath of the BBC settlement, allegations of witness intimidation abounded. A BBC internal memorandum to the Board of Management claimed some 17 witnesses had been intimidated into changing their testimony.<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1986/oct/31/hamilton-and-howarth-v-british#S6CV0103P0_19861031_CWA_38 Hamilton and Howarth v. British Broadcasting Corporation], ''Hansard'', HC Deb 31 October 1986 vol 103 c272W.</ref> A BBC source stated:<blockquote> "Nearly all the defence witnesses have had a quiet word in their ears. Only two or three people connected with Tory politics who would have given vital evidence for us now stick to their testimony. Some previously expressed disgust at incidents they had witnessed. Now they claim to have witnessed nothing."<ref>John Merritt, "Tories Nobble BBC Claim", ''The Daily Mirror'', 20 October 1986<br />Anne Spackman, "New evidence emerges in BBC Libel Case", ''The Independent'', 25 October 1986.</ref></blockquote>

Howarth and Hamilton said the case against Pedley would not be dropped and Pedley said he would not be joining the BBC decision. The ''Financial Times'' reported, "A solicitor for Mr Hamilton and Mr Howarth said later that their linked libel action against Mr Philip Pedley... would continue. Mr Pedley indicated that he intends to continue the case."<ref>David Thomas, Raymond Hughes and Michael Cassall, "MP urges resignations at BBC after libel settlement", ''Financial Times'', 22 October 1986.</ref>

The media began to focus on the remaining unsettled case. ''The Guardian'' reported that "The spotlight had swivelled to Phil Pedley, the Tory defendant who remained adamant he would fight on alone, backed by independent funds and, he claims, a wide range of Conservative supporters."<ref>"Fighting on alone", ''The Guardian'', 22 October 1986.</ref> Pedley did not name the supporters but the then chairman of the Young Conservatives, [[Richard Fuller (Bedford MP)|Richard Fuller]], pledged financial support to the fight and in a meeting with [[Jeffrey Archer]], Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, Fuller resisted Archer's demand to back down.<ref>David Sapsted, "MP's get damages", ''The Times'', 20 October 1986<br />Dennis Barker and Peter Fiddick, "Young Tory in Archer Meeting", ''The Guardian'', 21 October 1986.</ref>

Labour accused Conservative Central Office of organising a cover-up over claims that Hamilton had given a Nazi salute on a visit to Berlin and sought to question the then party chairman, [[Norman Tebbit]].<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1986/oct/21/engagements#S6CV0102P0_19861021_HOC_165 PMQs], ''Hansard'', HC Deb, 21 October 1986 vol 102 cc940-6<br />Ivor Owen, "Labour calls for statement on alleged libel case interference", ''Financial Times'', 22 October 1986<br />John Pienaar, "Tebbit leaning on Tories over BBC", ''The Independent'', 22 October 1986.</ref> [[Dale Campbell-Savours]] claimed he had evidence in the form of a letter from Pedley to the former Party Chairman, [[John Selwyn Gummer]], demonstrating Conservative Central Office (CCO) had contacted witnesses.<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1986/oct/23/bbc-court-case#S6CV0102P0_19861023_HOC_283 BBC (Court Case)], ''Hansard'', HC Deb 23 October 1986 vol 102 cc1307-10.</ref> Tebbit confirmed one witness had been in touch with CCO. "I am aware that one potential witness sought advice from Central Office but was told that no advice could be given..." Tebbit accused Campbell-Savours of making his accusations behind the cloak of parliamentary privilege and left the chamber to make his reply.<blockquote> "My staff are appalled and disgusted. They are filled with contempt for a man who can make these sort of accusations of a criminal offence against a member of staff, who, Mr Campbell-Savours knows damn well, is not guilty of it."<ref>Anthony Bevins, "Top Tory named in BBC Row", ''The Independent'', 24 October 1986<br />Alan Travis, "Labour accuses Tories of Libel Pressure", ''The Guardian'', 24 October 1986.</ref></blockquote>

On 25 October, the press reported new evidence of inappropriate witness contact.<ref>Anne Spackman, "New Evidence emerges in BBC libel case", ''The Independent'', 25 October 1986.</ref> Later that day, Hamilton announced that he was dropping the action against Pedley. However, Pedley reaffirmed that he "had no intention of withdrawing from the case."<ref>David Hencke, "MP drops Young Tory libel action", ''The Guardian'', 27 October 1986.</ref> Hamilton's announcement failed to quell demands for an enquiry and Campbell-Savours denounced Tebbit's tactic of making his statements outside the House of Commons chamber, accusing him of "a deliberate ploy to avoid placing himself in contempt by misleading the House in a personal statement". He invited Tebbit to make a statement in the House.<blockquote>"If he refuses, then the country will know that a conspiracy of silence is being engineered by senior figures to hide the truth."<ref>Anthony Bevans, "Tebbit challenged to make statement on BBC case", ''The Independent'', 28 October 1986<br />- Alan Travis, "Tory Squeeze Claim", ''The Guardian'', 28 October 1986.</ref> </blockquote>More information appeared in the press alleging witness interference, including the Hogan Memorandum, the internal BBC document listing the witnesses who had changed their account.<ref>Alan Travis, "Tory Squeeze claim", ''The Guardian'', 28 October 1986.</ref> ''The Independent'' revealed the existence of a taped conversation of a Tory witness being "shaken rigid" by Central Office's suggestion that the Berlin events had not happened and "no other witness would substantiate or give evidence about those alleged incidents" and the witness was told no other witness would back his account. The witness said, "this was like a bad dream."<ref>Anne Spackman and Anthony Bevins, "BBC witness shaken rigid", ''The Independent'', 29 October 1986.</ref>

Campbell-Savours claimed this was proof of BBC nobbling and announced that he was sending his evidence to Sir [[Michael Havers]], the Attorney General.<ref>[[James Naughtie]], "MP claims tape proof of BBC nobbling", ''The Guardian'', 5 November 1986.</ref> In the Commons, Campbell-Savours stated:<blockquote> "Central Office set about an elaborate attempt to interfere directly with potential witnesses. Attempts were made to manage and rig statements by Mr. David Mitchell. I repeat what I have said previously, but additionally I am able to say today that there is a tape in existence that confirms the nature of the conspiracy to hide the truth, and which identifies persons. Today I have sent a transcript of that tape to the Attorney-General. I have to inform you, Mr. Speaker, that it is but one of two tapes. I await a transcript of the second tape."<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1986/nov/04/bbc-libel-action BBC Libel Action], ''Hansard'', 4 November 1986.</ref></blockquote>

====Statement contradictions====
Press interest turned to Hamilton's past statements about the Berlin visit, over which Tory witnesses were alleged to have been pressured to say that they had not seen goose-stepping or Nazi-style salutes. Hamilton had given a categorical denial he had made a Nazi salute in Berlin to John Selwyn Gummer, the Party Chairman, in January 1984:

:"Dear John... I make it absolutely clear that, whilst in Berlin, I did not do any goose-stepping nor did I at any time give Nazi salutes. Indeed, I have always thought the latter was a criminal offence in the Federal Republic."

Writing in the ''Sunday Times'', Hamilton admitted making "a little salute" in the Reichstag.<ref>Neil Hamilton News in Focus feature, ''Sunday Times'', 26 October 1986<br />David Leigh and Paul Lashmar, Nazi Salute storm refuses to die down", ''The Observer'', 2 November 1986<br />[[Paul Foot (journalist)|Paul Foot]], "Spot the Goose", ''Daily Mirror'', 3 November 1986.</ref> Hamilton's admission had the effect of reaffirming the testimony of the two witnesses who alleged he had given a Nazi salute in Berlin and exposing those witnesses who had reversed their position.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

====Dropping of libel action against the Young Conservatives====
Hamilton and Howarth reversed their earlier position and dropped their libel action against Pedley. They said that extracting an apology from Pedley was not "worth the bother".<ref>''The Times'', 27 October 1986.</ref> On 3 December 1986, Pedley refused the offered settlement terms and asked for a hearing in open court. Justice Simon Brown ruled that Hamilton and Howarth be debarred from alleging Pedley's words were libel and should pay Pedley's costs.<ref>''The Financial Times'', 4 December 1986.<br />[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Neil_Hamilton_v_Pedley_Liability_Costs_Panorama_Case.jpeg High Court written judgement], 14 July 1987.</ref>

Pedley made a statement from the steps to say he stood by his words in the ''Panorama'' programme and restated he had never said the MPs were Nazis, rather their behaviour was part of a pattern that would harm the Party and in the case of Hamilton's Berlin behaviour, the Final YC Report accused Hamilton of "batty eccentricity". On the more substantive allegations, Pedley said he reiterated the points made in the YC Report had been called into question.<blockquote>"I consider I have the responsibility to vindicate the good work done by the members of that committee. Several have endured abuse and hate mail following publication of their names in the Young National Front paper Bulldog and other extremist papers. I hope this will now cease, together with set-ups and the surveillance and harassment of other witnesses; in my case by private security companies."<ref>Pedley Prepared Court Statement, 3 December 1986<br />- "A thoroughly moderate man", ''Time Out'', 17 December 1986.</ref></blockquote>

In December 1986, Hamilton was appointed [[Parliamentary Private Secretary]] to [[David Mitchell (politician)|David Mitchell]].

===Cash-for-questions===
{{Main|Cash-for-questions affair}}
On 20 October 1994, ''The Guardian'' published an article which claimed that Hamilton and another MP, [[Tim Smith (UK politician)|Tim Smith]], had received money, in the form of cash in brown envelopes. It claimed the money was paid to the men by [[Mohamed Al-Fayed]], the owner of [[Harrods]]. In return, the men were to ask questions on behalf of Al-Fayed in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]. Smith admitted his guilt and resigned immediately. Hamilton claimed innocence but was forced to resign five days later, on 25 October 1994.

====Libel action against ''The Guardian''====
Hamilton brought legal action for [[libel]] against ''The Guardian''. Hamilton joined [[Ian Greer]], a parliamentary lobbyist, as a co-plaintiff. In the process, the [[Bill of Rights 1689]] was amended by the [[Defamation Act 1996]] to allow statements made in Parliament to be questioned in court.<ref>Robert Shrimsley, "Guardian Case MP seeks law change", ''Financial Times'', 15 February 1996.<br />{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/1468-2230.00087 |volume=60 |issue=3 |title='Only Flattery is Safe': Political Speech and the Defamation Act 1996 |year=1997 | journal=Modern Law Review | pages=388–393 | last=Williams | first=Kevin}}</ref>

On 30 September 1996, the day before the start of the trial, Hamilton and Greer settled, citing a conflict of interest and lack of funds. ''The Guardian'' greeted the Hamilton collapse with the headline "A Liar and a Cheat". [[Alan Rusbridger]], editor of ''The Guardian'', said: "The decision by Neil Hamilton and Ian Greer must be one of the most astonishing legal cave-ins in the history of the law of libel" and called for the issues to be examined by Sir Gordon Downey, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, and the Inland Revenue.<ref>[[David Hencke]], [[David Leigh (journalist)|David Leigh]] and David [[Pallister]], [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1996/oct/01/hamiltonvalfayed.davidhencke "A Liar and a Cheat"], ''The Guardian'', 1 October 1996.</ref>
They each paid £7,500 towards the paper's legal costs. All the "cash-for-questions" evidence was sent to Sir [[Gordon Downey]], the [[Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/196466.stm |title=Timeline of Hamilton Cash for Questions Case |work=BBC News |access-date=21 July 2016}}</ref> On 1 October 1996, Hamilton appeared on the evening television program, ''[[Newsnight]]'', and engaged in a live debate with Alan Rusbridger, the editor of ''The Guardian''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmselect/cmstnprv/030iii/sp0142.htm |title=Select Committee on Standards and Privileges First Report |website=UK Parliament |date=20 February 2017 |access-date=5 July 2019}}</ref>

====Enquiry====
The "cash for questions" parliamentary enquiry took place in 1997, led by Downey. Hamilton vowed that if the "Downey report" found against him, he would resign.

[[Edwina Currie]], a former health minister, gave evidence. She told the inquiry that, in May 1988, Hamilton had been unmoved by a set of photographs that depicted smoking-related cancers; that is, harm to young people which might be caused by a product (tobacco) that he promoted.<ref>''The Independent'', 5 July 1997.</ref> Hamilton argued the pictures were irrelevant. Both Hamilton and [[Michael Brown (British politician)|Michael Brown]] had received a £6,000 [[honorarium]] and hospitality from [[Skoal tobacco|Skoal]] Bandits.<ref>{{cite web|author=The Committee Office, House of Commons|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmselect/cmstnprv/030ii/sp01140.htm |title=House of Commons – Standards and Privileges – First Report |website=Publications.parliament.uk |access-date=5 May 2012}}</ref> In December 1989, the sale of Skoal Bandit products was banned in the UK by the Secretary of State for Health, [[Kenneth Clarke]].<ref>[http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/safety-ban-on-skoal-bandits-1.598902 "Safety ban on Skoal Bandits"], ''The Herald'', 14 December 1989.</ref>

Downey reported that he found the evidence against Hamilton in the case of Al-Fayed "compelling". Hamilton received over £25,000 and had deliberately misled Michael Heseltine, then [[President of the Board of Trade]], in October 1994, when he said he had no financial relationship with Ian Greer. In a phone conversation, Hamilton gave an absolute assurance to Heseltine that there was no such relationship, but he had received two payments from Greer in 1988 and 1989, totalling £10,000.<ref name=IndDM>Donald McIntyre, [https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/a-clear-response-to-the-cash-for-questions-mps-1248896.html "A clear response to the cash for questions MPs"], ''The Independent'', 4 July 1997.</ref> Hamilton had asked for payment in kind so the money would not be taxable. He also failed to register his stays at the [[Hôtel Ritz Paris]] and at Al-Fayed's castle in Scotland in 1989.<ref>"The sleaze report: Five men who fell below the standards that Parliament demands from an MP - Hamilton: cash and a stay at Ritz; Smith: accepted cash in return for lobbying; Grylls: Misled committee over dealings Bowden: Did not declare; Brown: Failed to register", ''The Independent'', 4 July 1997.</ref>

On 3 July 1997, the enquiry found Hamilton guilty of taking "cash for questions". ''[[The Independent]]'' wrote: "Sir Gordon, contrary to Hamilton's confident expectations, had no compunction about concluding that he did indeed take cash in brown envelopes" and called on the new party leader to "expel the miscreants".<ref name=IndDM/> Hamilton, Smith (also found guilty), Brown and [[Michael Grylls]] were harshly criticised. If Hamilton and Smith had remained in parliament, Downey said he might have recommended long periods of suspension for both. Hamilton rejected these findings, whereas Smith, who had stood down, accepted them, apologised for his conduct, and retired from politics altogether.

====Libel action against Al-Fayed====
Hamilton also brought a legal action for libel against Mohamed Al-Fayed. On 16 January 1997, Al-Fayed appeared in an edition of the ''[[Dispatches (TV series)|Dispatches]]'' documentary series on [[Channel 4]].<ref>[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmselect/cmstnprv/030ii/sp0157.htm "Appendix 33 – continued: Appendix 1 Channel 4 and Fourth Estate Press Releases"], Select Committee on Standards and Privileges First Report, House of Commons, January 1997.</ref> He claimed that Hamilton had demanded and had accepted cash payments of up to £110,000,<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/573630.stm "Hamilton loses libel case"], ''BBC News'', 21 December 1999.</ref> Harrods' gift vouchers and a free holiday at the [[Hôtel Ritz Paris]] in 1987, in return for asking questions in Parliament on behalf of Harrods. While Hamilton did not deny the holiday, he continued to maintain that he was innocent of improper conduct.

On 31 July 1998, Hamilton's action was approved for a court listing. Funds for the action were donated by [[Lord Harris of High Cross]], the [[Earl of Portsmouth]] and Taki, who raised £50,000.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/576284.stm "The odd couple behind the odd couple"], ''BBC News'', 23 December 1999.</ref> Other contributors to the fund included [[Simon Heffer]], [[Norris McWhirter]], Peter Clarke, [[Lord Bell]], [[Gyles Brandreth]] and Gerald Howarth (Hamilton's co-plaintiff in the BBC action). Some Conservative MPs (approximately 40 of the 165) also made contributions. In total, approximately £410,000 was raised.<ref>''The Independent'', 23 December 1999.</ref>

The jury trial commenced in November 1999. Hamilton and his wife were cross-examined by [[George Carman]] QC. Carman put to Hamilton that he had acted corruptly to demand and then take £10,000 from [[Mobil Oil]] in 1989 for tabling an amendment to a finance bill. At the time, Hamilton was a member of a Commons select committee on finance.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/575299.stm |work=BBC News | title=The undoing of Neil Hamilton | date=22 December 1999 | access-date=26 March 2010}}</ref> Al-Fayed said Hamilton had taken the money either in brown envelope cash payments or through Ian Greer. Hamilton said in his own evidence: "I have never received a penny from Mr Fayed; I have never asked."<ref>Matt Wells [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/dec/11/hamiltonvalfayed.mattwells "'I lacked candour but I am not corrupt'"], ''The Guardian'', 11 December 1999.</ref> His counsel, in the closing comments, argued that Al-Fayed's assertions had destroyed his client's reputation.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/dec/16/hamiltonvalfayed "Hamilton's 'tragedy' was to help Al Fayed"], ''The Guardian'', 16 December 1999.</ref>

On 21 December 1999, the jury unanimously decided in favour of Al-Fayed, declaring Hamilton corrupt.<ref name="Greedy">{{cite news |last1=Wells |first1=Matt |last2=Wilson |first2=Jamie |last3=Pallister |first3=David |title=A greedy, corrupt liar |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/dec/22/hamiltonvalfayed.conservatives |access-date=15 December 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=22 December 1999 }}</ref><ref name="Sleaze"/> A year later, Hamilton lost his appeal against the decision,<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/dec/21/hamiltonvalfayed "Neil Hamilton loses libel appeal"], ''The Guardian'', 21 December 2000.<br />- {{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1080920.stm |work=BBC News | title=Neil Hamilton loses libel appeal | date=21 December 2000 | access-date=26 March 2010}}</ref> and was refused leave to appeal to the [[House of Lords]] on 2 April 2001.

== Bankruptcy ==
On 22 May 2001, unable to pay his legal fees and with costs amounting to some £3m, Hamilton was declared [[bankrupt]]. His and his wife's home in [[Nether Alderley]], Cheshire was sold for £1.25 million.<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 May 2001 |title=Hamilton declared bankrupt |url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/may/22/hamiltonvalfayed.conservatives |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140510141907/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/may/22/hamiltonvalfayed.conservatives |archive-date=10 May 2014 |access-date=15 January 2021 |work=The Guardian}}<br>- {{Cite news |title=Disgraced ex-minister Hamilton is bankrup t|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/disgraced-ex-minister-hamilton-is-bankrupt-1.384624 |access-date=15 January 2021 |newspaper=The Irish Times}}<br>- {{Cite news |date=22 May 2001 |title=Hamilton declared bankrupt |website=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1344367.stm|access-date=15 January 2021}}</ref> He was discharged from bankruptcy in May 2004.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

==False rape accusation==
On 10 August 2001, Hamilton and his wife, Christine, were arrested by police who were investigating an alleged rape. The Hamiltons said they could not have been present at the alleged rape scene because they were hosting a dinner party and produced alibis including one from [[Derek Laud]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-22 |title=Dinner guests whose testimony will count |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1337240/Dinner-guests-whose-testimony-will-count.html |access-date=2022-11-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622133132/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1337240/Dinner-guests-whose-testimony-will-count.html |archive-date=22 June 2022 }}</ref> The investigation against the couple was dropped when it became apparent that the accusations were [[False accusation of rape|entirely false]]. This event was recorded on film by [[Louis Theroux]], who, at that time, was spending time with the Hamiltons for an episode of his documentary series ''[[When Louis Met...]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1703426.stm|title=Theroux hits gold with Hamiltons |work=BBC News |access-date=2 April 2013 | date=11 December 2001}}</ref>

In June 2003, Nadine Milroy-Sloan, the woman responsible for the unfounded accusation, was sentenced to three years in jail for [[perverting the course of justice]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2988208.stm|title=Hamiltons relieved as accuser jailed |work=BBC News |access-date=26 May 2009 | date=13 June 2003}}<br />- {{cite web|url=http://www.deabirkett.com/pages/journalism_film/journalism/an_unshakeable_delusion.htm |title=Nadine Milroy Sloan, Christine and Neil Hamilton, false accusation |website=Deabirkett.com |access-date=5 May 2012}}</ref> In February 2005, the publicist [[Max Clifford]], who had acted for Milroy-Sloan, settled, paying Hamilton an undisclosed sum.<ref>{{cite web|last=Boffey|first=Daniel|title=Hamiltons toast end of PR king Max Clifford's reign with champagne|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/may/03/christine-hamilton-max-clifford-jailed-toast-champagne|work=The Guardian|date=3 May 2014| access-date=3 May 2014}}</ref>

In 2014, Milroy-Sloan, under her birth name Emily Checksfield, was jailed again for falsely claiming to police that her ex-partner had threatened to kill her with a [[Samurai sword]].<ref name="kent">{{cite news|url=http://www.kentonline.co.uk/deal/news/rape-claim-liar-said-i-threatened-her-with-sword-24436/|title=Army veteran speaks of prison ordeal at hands of Hamiltons' rape claim liar Emily Checksfield after she is jailed for more lies|author=Beth Robson|website=kentonline.co.uk|date=2 October 2014}}</ref> The same year, Clifford was jailed for sexual assaults on under-age girls.<ref name="cliffordjailed">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27259318|title=Max Clifford jailed for eight years for sex assaults|website=bbc.co.uk|date=2 May 2014}}</ref> After Clifford died in prison in December 2017, he was described by Hamilton as a "monster".<ref name="monster">{{cite web|url=http://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/nick-ferrari/max-clifford-was-an-unscrupulous-monster-hamilton/ |title=Max Clifford Was An Unscrupulous Monster, Says Neil Hamilton|website=lbc.co.uk|date=11 December 2017
}}</ref>

==Television appearances==
On 9 May 1997, Hamilton and his wife appeared on the current affairs satire quiz programme ''[[Have I Got News for You]]''. The episode was recorded one week after Hamilton lost his seat. [[Angus Deayton]], the presenter of the [[panel game]], wore a white suit instead of his usual brown one. This was a humorous reference to [[Martin Bell]], who wore just such a suit throughout the 1997 general election campaign. As a further taunt, at the end of the show, the Hamiltons were handed their "fee" in brown envelopes.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1485042.stm "'Invincible' Christine at Neil's side"], ''BBC News'', 10 August 2001.</ref> At one point Hamilton quipped: "I've found it's much better making political jokes than being one."<ref>''Have I Got News for You'', season 13 episode 4. BBC. Broadcast 9 May 1997.</ref>

On 30 March 2000, Hamilton appeared on ''[[Da Ali G Show]]'' on [[Channel 4]], for a satirical comedic interview<ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0508512/|title=Da Ali G Show S1E1|website=IMDb}}</ref> when he was seen to be sharing what appeared to be a marijuana joint with the comedian [[Sacha Baron Cohen]]'s "[[Ali G]]" character.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/607608.stm |title=Hamilton 'shared joint' with Ali G|work=BBC News|date=18 January 2000}}</ref>

In 2001 Hamilton appeared on ''[[When Louis Met...]]'', a documentary by [[Louis Theroux]], during which he described himself and his wife as "professional objects of curiosity".<ref>{{cite news |title=Informers and sex scandals |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/informers-and-sex-scandals-1.342393 |newspaper=The Irish Times}}</ref>

Since then, the Hamiltons have appeared in [[pantomime]]s, television chat shows, and programmes such as ''[[The Weakest Link (British game show)|The Weakest Link]]'', ''[[Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (British game show)|Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?]]'' and ''[[Ready Steady Cook]]''.<ref name="ES">{{cite news |title=The weird and wonderful world of former Tory MP Neil Hamilton |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/the-weird-and-wonderful-world-of-former-tory-mp-neil-hamilton-6442838.html |work=Evening Standard |date=10 April 2012}}</ref> He appeared on a celebrity edition of ''[[Mastermind (TV series)|Mastermind]]'' on [[Boxing Day]] 2004.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} He appeared on stage in ''[[The Rocky Horror Show]]'' wearing six-inch stiletto heels, a basque, suspenders and stockings, however he declined to appear on "Big Brother" or "Celebrity Wife Swap."<ref name="ES"/>

In 2005, Hamilton appeared on the [[Johnny Vegas]] show ''[[18 Stone of Idiot]]'', where he danced in a perspex box whilst Vegas and a member of the public poured buckets of fish over his head.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://film.thedigitalfix.com/content/id/59081/johnny-vegas-18-stone-of-idiot.html|title= Johnny Vegas: 18 Stone of Idiot |website=The Digital Fix|date=2 November 2005|access-date=15 January 2017 }}</ref><ref name="Z-list"/>

Due to his television appearances, ''The Guardian'' described him as "an all-purpose Z-list celebrity".<ref name="Z-list">{{cite news |title=Neil Hamilton: disgraced MP to Z-list celebrity to political comeback |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/10/neil-hamilton-disgraced-mp-celebrity-political-comeback-ukip |work=The Guardian |date=10 May 2016 |access-date=1 January 2023}}</ref>

==Political ideology==
Hamilton argued for the individual's right to smoke.{{Clarification needed|reason=smoking in public? Sale of cigarettes?|date=November 2022}} He was the only member in committee to oppose the Conservative government's bill to outlaw trafficking in human organs.<ref>Robert Barr (Associated Press), [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-07-16-mn-5772-story.html "London Kidneys-for-Cash Scandal Prompts Action to Ban Sale of Organs"], ''Los Angeles Times'', 16 July 1989.</ref> In April 1986, Hamilton was one of ten MPs to vote against the government on an [[EEC]] bill. Hamilton was a member of the "[[No Turning Back (political group)|No Turning Back group]]", advocating [[Thatcherite]] policies.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

In November 1989, Hamilton won the ''[[The Spectator|Spectator]]'' parliamentary wit of the year award. He jokingly remarked that when told of winning the award, he thought it was for being the "Twit of the year".<ref>[[Matthew Parris]], "Iron Lady eyes up the men at her feet - Political sketch", ''The Times'', 23 February 1990.</ref>

Hamilton's comments are frequently controversial. During a debate about amputees he said that [[Frank Dobson]] "does not have a leg to stand on". (January 1987).<ref>{{cite web|author=3.32&nbsp;pm |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1987/jan/29/j-e-hanger-and-co-ltd#S6CV0109P0_19870129_HOC_168 |title=J. E. Hanger and Co. Ltd. |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |publisher=House of Commons |date=29 January 1987 |access-date=5 May 2012}}</ref> To [[Jeremy Corbyn]], he suggested that "some of [his] [[Irish Republican Army|IRA]] friends could be used to get rid of pensioners by shooting them"—also in 1987.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1987/dec/01/elimination-of-poverty-in-old-age-etc-1#S6CV0123P0_19871201_HOC_204 |title=Elimination of poverty in old age etc. |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |publisher=House of Commons |date=1 December 1987 |access-date=5 May 2012}}</ref>

==Personal life==
On 4 June 1983, five days before polling day in the 1983 general election, Hamilton married [[Christine Hamilton|Mary Christine Holman]], the secretary to [[Conservative Party (UK)|Tory]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] [[Michael Grylls]],<ref>Andrew Roth, [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/politicsobituaries/story/0,,563430,00.html "Sir Michael Grylls: Conservative MP exposed in cash-for-questions investigation" (obituary)], ''The Guardian'', 24 February 2001.</ref> in [[Cornwall]]. In September 2003, after having a residence in the Tatton constituency for twenty years, the Hamiltons moved to [[Hullavington]], Wiltshire, where they purchased a home in October 2004. In 2006, they released a song coinciding with the World Cup, "England are Jolly Dee".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Neil & Christine Hamilton's World Cup Song - "England are Jolly Dee!"|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHcwa33I8UY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/fHcwa33I8UY| archive-date=2021-12-11 |website=YouTube| date=8 June 2010 |access-date=3 July 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In 1992, Hamilton suffered a broken nose when he defended [[Harvey Proctor]] during a [[homophobic attack]] in Proctor's shirtmaking shop. Two men were later imprisoned for the assault.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/court-threat-to-proctor-over-shop-accounts-1270333.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220509/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/court-threat-to-proctor-over-shop-accounts-1270333.html |archive-date=9 May 2022|url-status=live |title=Court Threat to Proctor Over Shop Accounts |first=Fran |last=Abrams |work=[[The Independent]] |location=London |date=1 March 1997 |accessdate=8 October 2013}}</ref>

Since 2008, he has been company secretary of Vixen Consultants Limited.<ref>[https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/04676586/officers Vixen Consultants Limited] at [[Companies House]]. Retrieved 8 December 2019.</ref> The trading name of Vixen Consultants is Christine Hamilton.<ref>[http://www.vat-check.co.uk/verify/vat_check.php/VATNumber/GB748503910 Value Added Tax information for VIXEN CONSULTANTS LIMITED trading as CHRISTINE HAMILTON], ''vat-check.co.uk''. Retrieved 8 December 2019.</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{commons category}}
*[http://www.neilhamiltonukip.com Official website]
*[https://www.theguardian.com/hamilton/ ''Guardian'' Special Report – Hamilton, Al Fayed Libel Case]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20030608124259/http://www.alfayed.com/details.asp?aid=77 Mohamed Al Fayed] on Hamilton
*[http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/sr180/notes.htm#foot ''Socialist Review'' article on Hamilton, Nov 1994]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20030802074752/http://guardianlies.com/ Guardian Lies] – site claiming a conspiracy against Hamilton
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-new | constituency}}
{{s-ttl | title  = Member of Parliament<br>for [[Tatton (UK Parliament constituency)|Tatton]]
        | years  = [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983]]–[[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]]}}
{{s-aft | after  = [[Martin Bell]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[John Redwood]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Department of Trade and Industry (United Kingdom)|Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs]]|years=1992–1994}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Jonathan Evans (politician)|Jonathan Evans]]}}
{{s-par|wal}}
{{succession box
 | title=[[Member of the Senedd]] for [[Mid and West Wales (National Assembly for Wales electoral region)|Mid and West Wales]]
 | years=[[2016 National Assembly for Wales election|2016]]–[[2021 Senedd election|2021]]
 | before= [[William Powell (Liberal Democrat politician)|William Powell]]
 | after= [[Jane Dodds]]
}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-new|office}}
{{s-ttl
  | title  = Leader of the [[UK Independence Party]] in the [[Senedd]]
  | years  = 2016–2018
}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Caroline Jones (politician)|Caroline Jones]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Nathan Gill]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Leader of [[UK Independence Party|UKIP Wales]]|years=2016–present}}
{{s-inc}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Gareth Bennett (politician)|Gareth Bennett]]}}
{{s-ttl
  | title  = Leader of the [[UK Independence Party]] in the [[Senedd]]
  | years  = 2019–2021
}}
{{s-non|reason=Position abolished}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Freddy Vachha]]}}
{{s-aft|after=Lois Perry}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Leader of the UK Independence Party]]<br>{{small|Acting}}|years=2020–2024}}
{{s-inc}}
{{s-end}}
{{Welsh AMs 2016-2021}}
{{UKIP}}
{{Leaders of political parties in the United Kingdom}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Neil}}
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of Aberystwyth University]]
[[Category:Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:British Eurosceptics]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:British barristers]]
[[Category:Leaders of the UK Independence Party]]
[[Category:Members of the Middle Temple]]
[[Category:People from Ammanford]]
[[Category:People from Blackwood, Caerphilly]]
[[Category:Right-wing populists in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1983–1987]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1987–1992]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1992–1997]]
[[Category:UK Independence Party members of the Senedd]]
[[Category:Wales MSs 2016–2021]]