Jonathan Aitken
Summary
Jonathan William Patrick Aitken (born 30 August 1942) is a former Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, and British government minister. He was convicted of perjury in 1999 and received an 18-month prison sentence, of which he served seven months.Aitken's parents were Sir William Aitken, a former Conservative MP, and Penelope Aitken, daughter of John Maffey, 1st Baron Rugby. Aitken is a great-nephew of newspaper magnate and war-time minister Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (Lord Beaverbrook). His sister is the actress Maria Aitken and his nephew is the actor Jack Davenport. His god-children include James Abbott, the son of Labour left-winger Diane Abbott.In 1999 it was confirmed by DNA testing that Petrina Khashoggi, daughter of billionaire arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, was in fact Aitken's biological child, stemming from an affair with Soraya Khashoggi, ne Sandra Daly, then wife of Adnan Khashoggi.Aitken was born in Dublin, Ireland.
Latest Jonathan Aitken News RSS Feed
-
How do you deal with public disgrace? | Jonathan Aitken and Conrad Black
Ex-cons Conrad Black and Jonathan Aitken both know what it's like to fall from the pinnacle of the British establishment. Here they swap stories about life behind bars.
-
A law and a courtroom, but who will be judge on Jeremy Hunt? | Peter Preston
For years, investigations into the conduct of ministers have bogged down in political expediency. This must be the case that breaks the trend.
-
Rupert Murdoch showed just how ruthless he can be at Leveson
Media mogul contrived to sound rather likeable, his dry, self-deprecating humour far from standard tycoon pomposity.
-
TV matters: Red or Black?
Given the furore over Nathan Hageman, should game shows do background checks on their contestants?.
-
Phone hacking Commons debate highlights: A round-up
Following David Cameron's statement on the phone hacking affair MPs have been spending the day discussing the scandal.
-
Phone hacking is not Britain's worst crisis – we need perspective
The scandal permeates important institutions of state and society, but does it mean we're all doomed? Of course not.
-
The future of regulation after the PCC
The newspaper industry does not want statutory regulation but will the public accept anything less?.
-
Politicians will forget the phone hacking and cringe again | Simon Jenkins
A newspaper faced up to Murdoch, not parliament. Instead of regulation, leaders need the courage to call the media's bluff.
-
Media Monkey's NoW Diary
✒Acting News of the World editor Piers Morgan, 28, is known for, ahem, getting chummy with his superiors: one tale told at his Sun leaving party involved the wunderkind sipping Chablis with Rupert Murdoch on the latter's private jet. So ponder the following coincidence. 25 February: Murdoch suggests that time's up for Page 3 pin-ups.
-
Alan Rusbridger: The long, slow road to libel reform
It's a great honour to be giving this lecture in the memory of Anthony Sampson, particularly with Sally here this evening.
TheMediaBriefing Social