Frank Ashcroft Judd, Baron Judd, FRSA (28 March 1935 – 17 April 2021) was a British Labour politician. He was a Senior Fellow of Saferworld NGO from 1994 to 2002, and from 2002 to 2015, a trustee. In 2007, he became a member of the advisory board at the Centre for Human Rights, and from 2014 to 2015, a member of the Commission on Diplomacy, at the London School of Economics. He was a member of the Unite and GMB trade unions.[2]
Early life
Frank Ashcroft Judd was born in Sutton in March 1935, the son of the late Charles Judd, CBE and Helen Osborn Judd (née Ashcroft), a JP.[3][4]
He was educated at the City of London School and the London School of Economics.[2] At the age of 15, he joined the Labour Party, influenced by his mother's activism in the party and his father's internationalism.[4]
At the February 1974 general election, Judd stood for the new seat of Portsmouth North, created from parts of his old seat, winning it with a majority of only 320 votes. The election saw Labour return to government, and Judd became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Navy) at the Ministry of Defence, remaining in the post until 1976. That year, he was made Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Ministry of Overseas Development and became the Minister of State for that department, serving until the following year. From 1977 to 1979, he was the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.[2]
When the government lost a vote of no confidence, a new general election was called in 1979, in which Labour were defeated by the Conservatives. In line with this national swing, Judd lost his seat to the ConservativePeter Griffiths.[2]
Judd was made a life peer on 10 June 1991 with the title Baron Judd, of Portsea in the County of Hampshire.[6] In the Lords, he was opposition front bench spokesperson on foreign affairs (1991 to 1992), and on defence (1995 to 1997). He was also principal spokesperson on education (1992 to 1994) and overseas development co-operation (1994 to 1997). Judd was a member of several committees in Parliament, including the Joint Committee on Human Rights from 2003 to 2007. He was again a member of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly from 1997 to 2005, where he became rapporteur on Chechnya (from 1999 to 2004) and visited Grozny several times.
Judd was interviewed in 2012 as part of The History of Parliament's oral history project.[7][8] From 2015 to 2019, he was a member of the EU Justice Sub Committee.[2]
In 1996, he became National President of YMCA England, a role he held until 2005. From 2002 to 2012, he was President of the Friends of the Royal Navy Museum in Portsmouth, and was latterly its Honorary Life Vice-president. He was also active in the Friends of the Lake District as its President (2005–12), becoming a Patron in 2012, and in the governance of a number of universities. In 2013, he became a Life Member of the Court of Newcastle University. Judd was a governor at LSE from 1982 to 2012, later being made Governor Emeritus.[2]
In 1961, Judd married Christine Elizabeth Willington; they had two daughters. His recreations were listed in Who's Who as "relaxing in the countryside, family holidays, enjoying music, opera, theatre and film". He was a member of the Royal Over-Seas League club.[2]