John Garlick Llewellyn Poulson (April 14, 1910 - January 31, 1993) was a disgraced
BritishThe British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, one of the Channel Islands, or of one of the British overseas territories, and their descendants. In a historical context, the term refers to the ancient Britons, the indigenous inhabitants of Great Britain south of the...
architectFor a topical guide to this subject, see Outline of architecture. Architecture is the art and science of designing and constructing buildings and other physical structures for human shelter or use....
and Freemason who caused a major political scandal when his use of
briberyBribery, a form of pecuniary corruption, is an act implying money or gift given that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an...
and connections to senior politicians were disclosed in 1972. The highest-ranking figure to be forced out was
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
Home SecretaryThe Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Reginald MaudlingReginald Maudling was a British politician who held several Cabinet posts, including Chancellor of the Exchequer. He had been spoken of as a prospective Conservative leader since 1955, and was twice seriously considered for the post; he was Edward Heath's chief rival in 1965...
. Poulson served a jail sentence, but continued to protest his innocence, claiming that he was "a man more sinned against than sinning".
Family and early life
Poulson came from a strict Methodist family and inherited a strong faith which stressed the importance of self-help. Intellectually he was "bright but not outstanding", but left school without qualifications and was failing in an architecture course at Leeds Polytechnic when he dropped out in 1927 to work for a
PontefractPontefract is an old, medievil town in West Yorkshire, England, near the A1 , the M62 motorway, and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...
architects' practice. Poulson was sacked from this company when it was taken over in 1932, because of his tendency to get the elevations of designs he was working on the wrong way round.
Though never a formally qualified architect, because as he later claimed "I was too busy to complete my examinations", Poulson surprisingly decided at the age of 22 to establish his own practice above a bank in Pontefract with two 16-year-old assistants; his forceful father Charles, a
Methodist lay preacherA Methodist local preacher is a lay person who has been accredited by a Methodist church to lead worship on a regular basis. Local preachers play an important role in the Methodist Church of Great Britain and other churches historically linked to it, and have also been important in English social...
, provided funding to help them through the depression. Poulson soon began to cultivate contacts in the local borough council and officials at the larger
West RidingThe West Riding of Yorkshire was one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
county authority. Work soon began to arrive and Poulson told friends that he was "on his way". Poulson also became politically involved with the
National LiberalsHistorically the National Liberal Party was a name used by two groups of politicians, who had formerly been associated with the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom.-National Liberal Party :...
, although never let political differences stop him from making friends who were in charge of commissioning public buildings.
Post-war business
Poulson obtained a medical exemption during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and used it to increase his business. However he was an uncaring employer who frequently demanded heavy commitment from his staff, and sacked them for trivial offences (such as growing a beard) and often in the run-up to
ChristmasChristmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days. The nativity of Jesus, which is the basis for the anno Domini...
. He had his own firm build him a house called 'Manasseh' at a cost of £60,000, helped by building contractors donating services for free in the hope of getting contracts in the future. The house won the 'Ideal Homes' House of the Year competition in 1958. When Poulson's problems caught up with him in later life, he sold the house to a young couple for just over half the build cost.
The ambitious Poulson found the accepted architectural method of completing a design then handing it over for costing, planning and building too slow and cumbersome and so he developed a combined architecture and design empire - an all-in-one service with his own valuation estimate - which housed all the separate disciplines under one roof under his control. This practice saved time for developers and ensured that his business grew, at its peak employing 750 people - one of the largest in Europe at the time. He was later to admit that the practice expanded "beyond my wildest dreams" and offices were opened in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
,
MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough is a town in the Tees Valley conurbation of North East England and sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire. It is the largest and most populous settlement within the Borough of Middlesbrough, which encompasses the town and several outlying villages which have become...
, Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
,
BeirutBeirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon with a population of over 2.1 million as of 2007. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's coastline with the Mediterranean sea, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan Area, which...
and
Lagos Lagos is the most populous conurbation in Nigeria with 7,937,932 inhabitants at the 2006 census...
.
Local authorities
In 1958 the National Liberal MP Sir
Herbert ButcherSir Herbert Walter Butcher was a British Conservative and National Liberal politician. He was elected Member of Parliament for Holland with Boston at a 1937 by-election, and served until his retirement at the 1966 general election, when he was replaced by Richard Body. Butcher was knighted after...
advised his friend Poulson to set up a servicing company to win business for his architect's practice. Poulson established Ropergate Services Ltd., named after the street in Pontefract where he was based. This company also had the advantage of reducing Poulson's tax liability considerably. The late 1950s saw a building boom as Britain had finally shaken off post-war austerity and many local authorities embarked on major building schemes. Notable among them was
Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England...
where dynamic leader
T. Dan SmithThomas Daniel Smith was a British politician who was Leader of Newcastle upon Tyne City Council from 1960 to 1965 and a prominent figure in the Labour Party in the north east of England, such that he was nicknamed 'Mr Newcastle'...
wanted to set his mark on the city.
Smith's desire to redevelop Newcastle attracted the attention of the construction firm
BovisBovis Lend Lease is an international construction management company and subsidiary of Lend Lease Corporation.-History:The Company was established by Charles William Bovis in 1885 in London as C. W. Bovis & Co. It changed hands in 1908 when it was acquired by Samuel Joseph and his cousin, Sidney...
which had worked for Poulson. Bovis' managing director suggested formalising links and in February 1962 Smith was appointed as a consultant to the Poulson organisation. This connection was extremely valuable to Poulson as Smith had a network of contacts among other authorities in the north-east, many of which were also recruited as Poulson consultants. Smith's involvement with the
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
reassured many Labour councillors wary of dealing with someone involved in the
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
-allied National Liberals.
Poulson also found a useful contact in Andrew Cunningham, a senior figure in both the General and Municipal Workers Union and the
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
in
north east EnglandNorth-East England is one of the nine official regions of England and comprises the combined area of Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Tees Valley. The historic name for North-East England is Northumbria and whilst a few regional bodies still use this name, it is rarely used in...
. Some of Poulson's largest residential blocks were built in Cunningham's home town of Felling,
County DurhamCounty Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in North East England. The county town is Durham.The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington. The county has an industrial heritage and its economy was historically based on coal and iron mining...
. Cunningham would later go to jail for his dealings with the architect.
Nationalised industries
Poulson was also in a good position to win work for the nationalised industries, partly due to his having offered gifts to many civil servants when they were relatively junior and calling upon them for a return of gratitude years in the future. As an example Poulson had met Graham Tunbridge, a railway employee, during the war. After the nationalisation of
British RailBritish Railways , which later traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the British railway system from the nationalisation of the 'Big Four' British railway companies in 1948 until privatisation in stages from 1994 to 1997...
Tunbridge became estates surveyor for its Eastern Region and sent Poulson several contracts for modernisation of station-master's homes. When Tunbridge became Estates and Rating Surveyor for BR Southern Region, Poulson moved on to contracts at Waterloo station,
Cannon Street stationCannon Street station, also known as London Cannon Street, is a National Rail and London Underground station complex in the City of London, the financial district of London in England. It is built on the site of the medieval Steelyard, the trading base in England of the Hanseatic League...
and
East Croydon stationEast Croydon station is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, 8.3 miles south of Charing Cross in Travelcard Zone 5. It is the largest and busiest station in Croydon and the busiest in London outside Travelcard Zone 1. It is one of three railway stations in the London Borough of Croydon with...
. In return, Poulson had at first supplied Tunbridge with £25 weekly, and later loaned him a Rover car.
Another productive contact was Scottish Office civil servant George Pottinger, who in the late 1950s was put in charge of a £3 million redevelopment of
AviemoreAviemore is a town and tourist resort, situated within the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area, within the Highland council area...
as a winter sports complex. Poulson gave Pottinger gifts worth over £30,000 over six years, and was appointed by Pottinger as architect in charge of the Aviemore project. Pottinger also had a degree of political knowledge and skill which Poulson lacked and drafted political speeches for the architect.
Poulson's connections with the National Liberals began to give him political advancement in the early 1960s. He was Vice-Chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Liberal Council from 1961 and frequently hosted National Liberal events in London at which he met senior government ministers, where Pottinger's speeches were impressive. He also made contact with the
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
MP
Albert RobertsAlbert Roberts was a British Labour politician.Roberts was educated at Whitwood Technical College and worked as a mining engineer and mines inspector for the Yorkshire Safety Board 1941-51. He was elected a councillor on Rothwell Urban District Council 1937-51, serving as chair in 1948.Roberts was...
, for whom Poulson designed a house (free of charge). Roberts had useful contacts with the
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
government and was offered a consultancy by Poulson at £2,500 per annum.
Overseas work
Poulson was increasingly interested in obtaining commissions outside Britain in the mid-1960s. This required making more contacts. The
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
MP
John CordleJohn Howard Cordle was a British Conservative Party politician.Cordle, the son of Ernest William Cordle, was educated at the City of London School and became managing director of E. W. Cordle and Son Ltd. in 1946. He was also a member of Lloyd's of London...
had extensive contacts in West Africa and after helping on several small contracts, in 1965 became a consultant to Poulson at £1,000 per annum. However, Cordle's approaches to governments in
NigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger...
,
The GambiaThe Gambia , commonly known as Gambia, is a country in Western Africa. The Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, bordered to the north, east, and south by Senegal, and has a small coast on the Atlantic Ocean in the west.Its borders roughly correspond to the path of the Gambia River,...
and
LibyaLibya , officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , is a country located in North Africa...
proved unfruitful. Cordle unwisely wrote a letter outlining everything he had done for Poulson, which was ultimately to doom his Parliamentary career.
Maudling
Another contact was the then Shadow Commonwealth Secretary
Reginald MaudlingReginald Maudling was a British politician who held several Cabinet posts, including Chancellor of the Exchequer. He had been spoken of as a prospective Conservative leader since 1955, and was twice seriously considered for the post; he was Edward Heath's chief rival in 1965...
, whom Poulson knew from his National Liberal activities. Maudling was anxious to build up a business career to keep up his income and Poulson needed a big name as Chairman of one of his companies, Construction Promotion. In 1966 Maudling accepted an offer to be Chairman for £5,000 per annum. In addition, Maudling's son Martin, who had left
Oxford UniversityThe University of Oxford , located in the UK city of Oxford, is the oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and is regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions. Although the exact date of foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back...
without taking a degree, went to work for another Poulson company. Poulson agreed to donate large sums of money to a charity patronised by Maudling's wife.
In return, Maudling helped to bring pressure on the government of
MaltaMalta , officially the Republic of Malta , is a densely populated developed European country in the European Union. The Southern European island nation is an archipelago that includes the inhabited islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, along with a number of smaller, uninhabited islands...
to award a £1.5 million contract for the new Victoria Hospital on
GozoGozo is an island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Southern European country of Malta; after the island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest island in the archipelago...
to Poulson. In Parliament, Maudling vociferously opposed the plans of the Labour government to reduce the amount of defence spending and number of UK troops on Malta. He traded on the goodwill this created to bring extra pressure, and also changed Conservative Party policy so that overseas development assistance to Malta would be 75% grant and 25% loan instead of the even split which the Labour government had introduced.
Financial trouble
Poulson's business model was initially highly successful and, at its apogee, was making an annual turnover of £1 million; he himself admitted to being a millionaire. However, it was consuming more contract work than was becoming available, and Poulson resorted to tackling these difficulties by bribing and corrupting local councillors, local authority officials and civil servants at all levels. This was an expensive strategy and Poulson later estimated that he "gave away" about £500,000 in the last few years of his involvement in the business.
As part of his attempts to get noticed, Poulson had become a local Commissioner of Taxes. However his own tax payments were seriously in deficit by the mid-1960s, mainly due to his extravagance on consultancies and gifts. In January 1968 the
Inland RevenueThe Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, petroleum revenue tax and stamp duty...
finally decided to sue Poulson; on November 18, 1968, they obtained judgment in their favour for £211,639. Poulson struggled on, but in June 1969 his staff confronted him with the fact that he was approaching bankruptcy. He attempted to recoup cash he had poured into subsidiary companies, which alerted his consultants that all was not well. Maudling and his son quietly resigned in November 1969.
On December 31, 1969, Poulson was formally removed from control of J.G.L. Poulson and Associates. On November 9, 1971, he filed his own bankruptcy petition revealing debts of £247,000. The bankruptcy hearings in Spring 1972 were assisted by Poulson's meticulous record-keeping which detailed his payments and gifts. Poulson's generosity drew the comment from Muir Hunter QC during the bankruptcy proceedings that "[i]n fact, Mr Poulson, you were distributing largesse like
Henry VIIIHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lord of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII.Henry VIII was a significant figure in the history of the English monarchy...
". The bankruptcy hearing also revealed Poulson's love for a lavish lifestyle and his penchant for rubbing shoulders with senior figures in the establishment. This desire to show his financial superiority over others only served to highlight his true character as a lonely, friendless and insecure person. Interestingly, one of Poulson's biggest creditors was the
Inland RevenueThe Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, petroleum revenue tax and stamp duty...
to which he owed around £200,000. Whilst the Revenue were pressing Poulson for payment of this amount, he was himself presiding over debt hearings in
WakefieldWakefield is the main settlement of the City of Wakefield metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder, it had a population of 76,886 in 2001.Wakefield was dubbed the "Merrie City" in the Middle Ages.-Toponymy:...
in his role as a Commissioner of Inland Revenue.
It swiftly became apparent that Poulson was at the centre of a massive corruption scandal, and in July 1972, the Metropolitan Police began an investigation for fraud. This precipitated the resignation of Reginald Maudling, then
Home SecretaryThe Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
and notionally in charge of the police.
Dénouement
On June 22, 1973, Poulson was arrested and charged with corruption in connection with the award of building contracts. Following a 52-day trial at
Leeds Crown CourtLeeds Crown Court is the highest court in West Yorkshire, England. The buildings are situated in Westgate in Leeds city centre, adjacent to Leeds magistrates courts.-Notable cases:...
which was widely reported in the press, he was convicted on February 11, 1974, of fraud and jailed for five years (later increased to seven years). Sentencing him, the judge called Poulson an "incalculably evil man". For his part, Poulson denied the charges, saying "I have been a fool, surrounded by a pack of leeches. I took on the world on its own terms, and no one can deny I once had it in my fist". Many of his contacts, notably
T. Dan SmithThomas Daniel Smith was a British politician who was Leader of Newcastle upon Tyne City Council from 1960 to 1965 and a prominent figure in the Labour Party in the north east of England, such that he was nicknamed 'Mr Newcastle'...
and George Pottinger, were similarly convicted and jailed, though not the three MPs: it was found that there was a legal loophole through which Members of Parliament could not be considered as in charge of public funds. The Poulson scandals did much to force the House of Commons to initiate a Register of Members' Interests. A subsequent Select Committee inquiry which reported in 1977 found that all three had indulged in "conduct inconsistent with the standards which the House is entitled to expect from its Members". Cordle was forced to resign although the Commons then voted only to 'take note' of the Committee's report rather than endorsing it.
After serving periods in
Armley GaolHM Prison Leeds is a Category B men's prison, located in the Armley area of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds Prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, and is still known locally as Armley Gaol, the historical name for the prison....
,
WakefieldHM Prison Wakefield is a Category A men's prison, located in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, and is the largest maximum security prison in the United Kingdom .-History:...
and Oakham jails, Poulson was released on May 13, 1977, from
Lincoln PrisonHM Prison Lincoln is a Category B men's prison, located in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
. His bankruptcy was discharged, with creditors receiving 10p in the pound, in 1980. A condition of the discharge was that half the proceeds of his autobiography would go to his creditors; the resulting book,
The Price, gives his side of the corruption scandal and maintains his innocence. Only a few copies of the book remain in circulation as it was withdrawn and pulped by the publishers through fear of libel actions. Throughout the rest of his life Poulson insisted that he was simply developing advanced public relations and consulting techniques.
The trial at Leeds Crown Court lasted 52 days, and cost an estimated £1.25 million. Defending Poulson, QC Donald Herrod, said "He has nothing to live for and his abiding fear is that he will never complete his sentence because of ill health". However Donald Herrod later described his client as "hypocritical, self-righteous and perhaps something of a megalomaniac".
Contribution
Among buildings designed by Poulson are the
City HouseCity House is a skyscraper over Leeds City Station that was built as British Railways House in 1962. The buildings were, like many other railway buildings in the UK, designed by disgraced architect John Poulson. Poulson also designed the Leeds International Swimming Pool...
(1962) and
International PoolThe Leeds International Pool often referred to as the Leeds International Baths, are former swimming facilities in Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England. The Pool is situated at the lower end of Westgate and is notable for its brutalist architecture. The pool was constructed in the 1960s and...
(1965-1968), both in
LeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The historic core at the heart of Leeds in 2001 had an estimated subdivision population of 443,247, whilst the entire city, that includes the urban and suburban areas incorporated into the city in 1974, had an estimated...
, and Forster House,
BradfordBradford is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, which was demolished in 2005 as part of the
Forster SquareForster Square, Bradford was a square in central Bradford that disappeared in the current Broadway development, but gives its name to Bradford Forster Square railway station and a retail park.- History :...
redevelopment.
In an indirect way, Poulson did make a contribution to the UK's broadcasting culture. A special edition of the investigative
ITVITV is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK...
series
World in ActionWorld in Action was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television from 1963 to 1998. The efforts of its production team not infrequently had a major impact on events of the day...
,
The Friends and Influence of John L Poulson, became a
cause célèbreA cause célèbre is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning and heated public debate. The term is particularly used in connection with celebrated legal cases. It is a French phrase in common usage in English...
in the debate about the power of Britain's television regulators to interfere with broadcast
journalismJournalism is the craft of conveying news, descriptive material and comment via a widening spectrum of media. These include newspapers, magazines, radio and television, the internet and even, more recently, the mobile phone...
. The Poulson programme was banned by the then regulator, the
ITAThe Independent Television Authority was an agency created by the Television Act 1954 to supervise the creation of "Independent Television" , the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom...
, even though its members had not seen it. A furious debate followed in which
newspaperA newspaper is a publication containing news, information, and advertising. General-interest newspapers often feature articles on political events, crime, business, art/entertainment, society and sports. Most traditional papers also feature an editorial page containing columns that express the...
s as varied as
The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
and
Socialist WorkerSocialist Worker is the name of several socialist/communist newspapers. It is a daily Web site and biweekly printed newspaper published by the International Socialist Organization in the United States, a weekly published by the Socialist Workers Party in the United Kingdom, a biweekly published by...
united in calling for an end to such "
censorshipCensorship is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the government or media organizations as determined by a censor.-Rationale:...
".
Granada TelevisionGranada Television is the United Kingdom ITV contractor for North West England and the Isle of Man.It is the only one of the original four ITA franchisees from 1954 that survived as a franchise holder into the twenty-first century. Broadcasting began on 3 May 1956, with the company originally...
, the makers of
World In Action, broadcast a blank screen as a protest against the banning. There was some irony in this: the editor of World in Action was Raymond Fitzwalter who earlier, as deputy news editor of the Telegraph & Argus in Bradford, had led an investigation into Poulson's activities, which the newspaper published. Eventually, after the film was shown to the ITA, it was transmitted on April 30, 1973, three months late, and under a different title,
The Rise And Fall of John Poulson.
http://www.rts.org.uk/magazine_det.asp?id=4758&sec_id=826
The 1996,
BBC television dramaBBC television dramas have been produced and broadcast since even before the public service company had an officially established television broadcasting network in the United Kingdom...
serial
Our Friends in the NorthOur Friends in the North is a British television drama serial, produced by the BBC and originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC2 in early 1996...
, written by
Peter FlanneryPeter Flannery is a British playwright and screenwriter. He was educated at Bath Spa University and is best known for his work while a resident playwright at the Royal Shakespeare Company in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
, contains a character, John Edwards, who is closely based on Poulson, played by
Geoffrey HutchingsGeoffrey Hutchings is a British actor from stage, movies and television.He studied French and Physical Education at Birmingham University before he became a member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1968...
. One of the reasons the production took so long to reach the screen – Flannery had originally written it for the stage in 1982 – was the fear of the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
that Poulson and others fictionalised in the drama might take legal action. In the event, the deaths of Poulson and T. Dan Smith in 1993 finally allowed the production to commence.