Arthur Davidson
I was so saddened to learn last night of the passing of my great friend Arthur Davidson aged 89. He made a substantial mark in two fields. He was Labour MP for Accrington from 1966-83, losing the seat by 21 votes and was the leading libel lawyer of his generation. I was particularly sad as I never had the opportunity for a proper farewell. Though frail, and he had more than one encounter with the Grim Reaper these past few years, his brain remained always active and agile. He was one of the cleverest and most rounded men I ever knew. As a lawyer, he was particularly strong on meaning. After losing his seat he was legal director for the Daily Mail and Mirror Group. In latter years he ‘legaled’ for Time Out and was an editorial trustee of Express Newspapers.
Here is an obituary of Arthur:
Arthur Davidson Express Obituary
It refers to Arthur as shadow minister for the Armed Forces. It does not though refer to one of my and his favourite stories. He and his Tory colleague minister were working late on an emendment to the Army Act on the delicate issue of homosexuality. They sent the draft to a senior servant. He contacted Arthur in the morning somewhat concerned as, if he read the emendment correctly, it had made homosexuality compulsory in the armed forces. It was wholly untypical of Arthur to make such a mistake because he had an unerring eye for detail but it was typical of a man free of bombast and vanity with a delightfully mischievous sense of humour that he so rejoiced in telling the story.