Amédée Turner
Encyclopedia
Amédée Edward Turner QC
(born 26 March 1929) is a British
barrister
and politician, who served for fifteen years as a Conservative Party
Member of the European Parliament
. As an English patent
lawyer he worked both in New York
and in London. A strong supporter of British membership of the European Union
, he resisted proposals to impose worker participation on British business, and eventually became Chief Whip of the European Democratic Group. After losing his seat he returned to business as a senior counsel in Brussels
.
Swiss
family, and his parents moved in 1946 to a converted Jacobean barn in Westleton
, Suffolk
. His family were wealthy and he had a fee-paying education at Temple Grove preparatory school
in Heron's Ghyll, Sussex
, and Dauntsey's School
in Wiltshire
. At Christ Church, Oxford
he read law and in 1954 he was called to the bar
by the Inner Temple
. He immediately went into practice at the Patent Bar.
; he was an adviser on English patent law to American clients. He returned to London in 1960, to continue as a specialist in patent law, and in the same year he married Deborah Dudley Owen, who was from an American family. In 1962 he wrote "The Law of Trade Secrets". Turner acted for Eli Lilly and Co. Ltd.
against the Chelsea Drug Chemical Co. Ltd for infringing the patent on penicillin
; he succeeded in persuading the Judge to grant the injunction
.
in 1950, and was selected as candidate for Norwich North for the 1964 general election
. Norwich North was a Labour-held seat and Turner was defeated by 6,491 votes, but the swing
in the constituency was below 1% to Labour in contrast to a national trend of 3.2%. Reselected in March 1965, he fought the seat again in the 1966 general election
but suffered a 4.7% swing and lost by 8,926 votes.
In the aftermath of Enoch Powell
's 'Rivers of Blood' speech and during the passage of the Race Relations Act 1968
, Turner wrote to The Times
to endorse the principle of a legal remedy for racial discrimination, but said that people were genuinely concerned at being "swamped by coloured people where they live". He argued that residents should be able to complain to a race relations board about overcrowding in a particular house, or an undue number of homes being taken over by coloured families. On his third attempt in Norwich North, Turner was again defeated at the 1970 general election
.
. In 1978 he argued that there should be no prohibition on the Monarch taking communion from a Roman Catholic priest, nor on the Head of the Church of England
marrying a Catholic, provided that the Monarch and heir to the throne remain Protestant Anglican. Having chambers in Munich
as well as London gave Turner experience of business practice on the continent. When the European Parliament
was opened to direct elections, Turner was chosen as Conservative candidate for Suffolk, and at the 1979 election he was easily elected.
's proposals which had been prepared eight years previously. Later that year he also defeated the requirement for British companies to have 'worker directors
'.
, Felixstowe
, Harwich
in his constituency would benefit from the investment, as well as British Rail
. In a debate with leading opponent of British membership Teddy Taylor
in September 1981, Turner defended British membership and argued that there was no room for a "half-way house attitude" to the EEC. Turner wanted to see a Europe-wide competition to design a flag of Europe, rather than adopting the Council of Europe
's flag.
of the group. When the Conservative MEPs joined the European People's Party
in 1992, Turner was named chairman of the Committee on Internal Affairs and Civil Rights. He was also a member of the EPP's ruling bureau.
At the 1994 election, Turner fought for re-election in the Suffolk and South West Norfolk constituency. The Liberal Democrats
pointed to the fact that he had voted in 1990 to support a motion calling for "a European union on a federal basis" and economic and monetary union, including a single currency, which did not reflect Conservative policy. Turner ended up losing his seat to Labour's David Thomas.
to Oppenheimer, Wolff and Donnelly, a United States law firm. He also represented lobbyists
APCO Europe from 1995 to 1999 and WorldSpace Ltd from 1999 to 2001. From 1999 he was a director of CJA Consultants Ltd., becoming Chairman in 2004. Turner assisted the Macedonian
Parliament to play a fuller part in the political system, and revised its rules of procedure, in 2001-02 as part of the PHARE
programme. He was a member of the Advisory Council to the Anglican Observer mission to the United Nations
from 2002 to 2006. In 2005-06 he wrote a report on Anglican, Episcopalian
and Muslim discussions on the attitudes of lay Muslims to democracy and human rights in the USA and Britain. He also wrote reports on patent litigation insurance for the European Commission in 2003 and 2006.
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(born 26 March 1929) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
and politician, who served for fifteen years as a Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
. As an English patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
lawyer he worked both in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and in London. A strong supporter of British membership of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, he resisted proposals to impose worker participation on British business, and eventually became Chief Whip of the European Democratic Group. After losing his seat he returned to business as a senior counsel in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
.
Family and education
Turner's mother, Ruth Hempson, came from a HuguenotHuguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
family, and his parents moved in 1946 to a converted Jacobean barn in Westleton
Westleton
Westleton is a village in the English county of Suffolk. It is located north of Leiston and miles north-east of Saxmundham near the North Sea coast. The village is on the edge of the Suffolk Sandlings, an area of lowland heathland...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. His family were wealthy and he had a fee-paying education at Temple Grove preparatory school
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
in Heron's Ghyll, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, and Dauntsey's School
Dauntsey's School
Dauntsey's School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the village of West Lavington, Wiltshire, England. The School was founded in 1542, in accordance with the will of William Dauntesey, a master of the Worshipful Company of Mercers....
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. At Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
he read law and in 1954 he was called to the bar
Call to the bar
The Call to the Bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party, and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar"...
by the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
. He immediately went into practice at the Patent Bar.
Patent law
In 1957, Turner was made an associate of Kenyon & Kenyon, patent attorneys, in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
; he was an adviser on English patent law to American clients. He returned to London in 1960, to continue as a specialist in patent law, and in the same year he married Deborah Dudley Owen, who was from an American family. In 1962 he wrote "The Law of Trade Secrets". Turner acted for Eli Lilly and Co. Ltd.
Eli Lilly and Company
Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company. Eli Lilly's global headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States...
against the Chelsea Drug Chemical Co. Ltd for infringing the patent on penicillin
Penicillin
Penicillin is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They include penicillin G, procaine penicillin, benzathine penicillin, and penicillin V....
; he succeeded in persuading the Judge to grant the injunction
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
.
Political candidate
Turner began writing study papers for the Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
in 1950, and was selected as candidate for Norwich North for the 1964 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1964
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
. Norwich North was a Labour-held seat and Turner was defeated by 6,491 votes, but the swing
Swing (politics)
An electoral swing analysis shows the extent of change in voter support from one election to another. It is an indicator of voter support for individual candidates or political parties, or voter preference between two or more candidates or parties...
in the constituency was below 1% to Labour in contrast to a national trend of 3.2%. Reselected in March 1965, he fought the seat again in the 1966 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1966
The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs...
but suffered a 4.7% swing and lost by 8,926 votes.
In the aftermath of Enoch Powell
Enoch Powell
John Enoch Powell, MBE was a British politician, classical scholar, poet, writer, and soldier. He served as a Conservative Party MP and Minister of Health . He attained most prominence in 1968, when he made the controversial Rivers of Blood speech in opposition to mass immigration from...
's 'Rivers of Blood' speech and during the passage of the Race Relations Act 1968
Race Relations Act 1968
The Race Relations Act 1968 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom making it illegal to refuse housing, employment, or public services to a person on the grounds of colour, race, ethnic or national origins. It also created the Community Relations Commission to promote 'harmonious...
, Turner wrote to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
to endorse the principle of a legal remedy for racial discrimination, but said that people were genuinely concerned at being "swamped by coloured people where they live". He argued that residents should be able to complain to a race relations board about overcrowding in a particular house, or an undue number of homes being taken over by coloured families. On his third attempt in Norwich North, Turner was again defeated at the 1970 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1970
The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...
.
Europe
After twenty years' legal practice, Turner "took silk" in 1976 to become a Queen's CounselQueen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
. In 1978 he argued that there should be no prohibition on the Monarch taking communion from a Roman Catholic priest, nor on the Head of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
marrying a Catholic, provided that the Monarch and heir to the throne remain Protestant Anglican. Having chambers in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
as well as London gave Turner experience of business practice on the continent. When the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
was opened to direct elections, Turner was chosen as Conservative candidate for Suffolk, and at the 1979 election he was easily elected.
Worker participation
Turner took heavy committee responsibilities at the European Parliament, where he was appointed vice-chairman of the Legal committee, as well as serving on the Economic and Monetary Committee, and the ACP Joint Assembly. In November 1979 he used his position on the Legal committee to argue against a European directive laying down a requirement on employers to consult with workers on major decisions affecting their workplace. The committee's final report, agreed in February 1980, was largely written by Turner and rejected the European CommissionEuropean Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
's proposals which had been prepared eight years previously. Later that year he also defeated the requirement for British companies to have 'worker directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
'.
British membership
With concern about the British contribution to the European Community budget, in July 1980 Turner argued in favour of a proposal from Transport Commissioner Ray Burke for providing EC funds to improve transport links; he believed the ports of IpswichIpswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, Felixstowe
Felixstowe
Felixstowe is a seaside town on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. The town gives its name to the nearby Port of Felixstowe, which is the largest container port in the United Kingdom and is owned by Hutchinson Ports UK...
, Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
in his constituency would benefit from the investment, as well as British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
. In a debate with leading opponent of British membership Teddy Taylor
Teddy Taylor
Sir Edward MacMillan Taylor, usually known as Teddy Taylor , is a British Conservative Party politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1964 to 1979 for Glasgow Cathcart and from 1980 to 2005 for Rochford and Southend East.He was a leading member and sometime Vice-President of the Conservative...
in September 1981, Turner defended British membership and argued that there was no room for a "half-way house attitude" to the EEC. Turner wanted to see a Europe-wide competition to design a flag of Europe, rather than adopting the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
's flag.
European Parliament roles
Turner served on the Transport committee from 1981 to 1984, and on the Energy and Technology committee from 1983 to 1989. He was re-elected in a boundary-changed constituency in the 1984 and 1989 elections. Serving from 1984 to 1989 as the spokesman on energy research and technology for the European Democratic Group which included the Conservative MEPs, from 1989 to 1992 he was Chief WhipWhip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
of the group. When the Conservative MEPs joined the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
in 1992, Turner was named chairman of the Committee on Internal Affairs and Civil Rights. He was also a member of the EPP's ruling bureau.
At the 1994 election, Turner fought for re-election in the Suffolk and South West Norfolk constituency. The Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
pointed to the fact that he had voted in 1990 to support a motion calling for "a European union on a federal basis" and economic and monetary union, including a single currency, which did not reflect Conservative policy. Turner ended up losing his seat to Labour's David Thomas.
Subsequent career
Turner returned to work as senior counsel in BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
to Oppenheimer, Wolff and Donnelly, a United States law firm. He also represented lobbyists
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
APCO Europe from 1995 to 1999 and WorldSpace Ltd from 1999 to 2001. From 1999 he was a director of CJA Consultants Ltd., becoming Chairman in 2004. Turner assisted the Macedonian
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
Parliament to play a fuller part in the political system, and revised its rules of procedure, in 2001-02 as part of the PHARE
Phare
The Phare programme is one of the three pre-accession instruments financed by the European Union to assist the applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe in their preparations for joining the European Union....
programme. He was a member of the Advisory Council to the Anglican Observer mission to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
from 2002 to 2006. In 2005-06 he wrote a report on Anglican, Episcopalian
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
and Muslim discussions on the attitudes of lay Muslims to democracy and human rights in the USA and Britain. He also wrote reports on patent litigation insurance for the European Commission in 2003 and 2006.