Phillip Whitehead: an MEP and ‘Happy Warrior’

Date: 12/01/06

Phillip Whitehead, the British Labour MEP who died from a heart attack, aged 68, on 31 December, was an outstanding parliamentarian, a world-class producer of television documentaries, and, most importantly, an exceptional human being.

I first met him more than 40 years ago, when I joined the BBC on a short-term contract to help organise the coverage of the 1964 British general election. Phillip was one of a group of 'bright young men' (I don't recall any young women), who had recently been recruited from universities as trainee producers.

Most of them, though clever, were rather smooth and conformist, but Phillip stood out like a sore thumb. An untidy, bearded fellow, with unconventional ways, a complete lack of deference to his superiors and an overwhelming intellectual curiosity.

At Oxford University, he had been the leader of the Conservative students and president of the famous Oxford Union debating society. Then one day, in a spirit of 'know thine enemy', he sat down to read The Future of Socialism by the leading Socialist revisionist writer (and later Labour Foreign Secretary) Anthony Crosland.

It was his 'road to Damascus'; he announced his instant conversion and for the rest of his life was a committed (though never uncritical) member of the Labour Party. As Crosland was my personal hero, I felt an immediate affinity with him, and we became close friends, both being elected as Labour MPs in 1970. It was an unhappy time to be a Labour MP. The party was badly split on many issues, and when Edward Heath successfully negotiated British membership of the EEC (as it was then known), the Labour Party came out decisively against. Phillip and I were among the minority of 69 Labour MPs (led by Roy Jenkins) who defied the party whips and voted in favour.

Phillip remained an MP for 13 years, losing his Derby North seat in Margaret Thatcher's landslide victory in 1983. During all this time, he was one of the most active and effective of MPs, promoting a great deal of social legislation, including the Children's Act, which personally affected him.

It gave the right for adopted children to learn the identity of their natural parents on reaching the age of 16. Phillip had been adopted as a baby by a local carpenter and his wife in the Derbyshire village of Rowsley. It was only after this Act was passed that he was able to make contact with his mother, then well past 70, who had conceived him as a teenager.

After his electoral defeat, Phillip became an independent television prod-ucer, receiving worldwide acclaim, and a clutch of Emmy awards, for series which included The World at War, Nixon, The Windsors, The Nehru-Gandhi Dynasty and The Kennedys. His final production - a two-part programme on Catherine the Great - was screened only a few weeks ago.

He continued his television work after his election to the European Parliament in 1994 and his life since then was unbelievably hectic. He became one of the most respected and sought-out members of the Parliament, presiding over the European Parliamentary Labour Party for five years and acting as rapporteur on the directive setting up the European Food Safety Authority, whose terms of reference he was largely responsible for improving.

In 2004, he became chairman of one of the Parliament's main committees, on the internal market and consumer protection, and until his death was working hard to put the services directive back on the rails.

Phillip never attempted to conceal his strong views on divisive issues, yet he made very few enemies and was held in great affection by members of all groups in the Parliament.

In all his activities, Phillip received the loving support of his wife, Christine, their three children and two grandchildren, to whom he was devoted. Their great loss will be shared by his very many friends.

Thinking of Phillip, I am reminded of a famous verse by the English poet, William Wordsworth. "Who is the happy Warrior", he wrote: "Who is he?" The reply was "It is the generous spirit." There have been few more generous spirits than Phillip Whitehead.

• Dick Leonard is a former Labour MP in the UK parliament.

Profile of the British Labour MEP who died on 31 December 2005.