44 Facts About Crispin Blunt

In 2013, Crispin Blunt was deselected by the Constituency Executive Council, with speculation that this was due to his public announcement that he was gay.

Crispin Blunt subsequently had the Conservative Party whip removed, continuing to sit as an independent MP until the dissolution of Parliament in May 2024.

Crispin Blunt did not stand for re-election at the subsequent general election.

Crispin Blunt was born on 15 July 1960 in West Germany, one of three sons of English parents Adrienne and Major-General Peter Crispin Blunt.

Crispin Blunt was educated at Wellington College, an independent school in Berkshire.

Crispin Blunt then attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where he won the Queen's Medal, following which he gained a regular commission in the British Army.

Crispin Blunt was commissioned as an officer in the British Army on 4 August 1979 as a second lieutenant.

Crispin Blunt was promoted to lieutenant on 4 August 1981, and to captain on 4 February 1986.

Crispin Blunt resigned his commission on 24 September 1990, and was appointed to the Reserve of Officers.

Crispin Blunt contested his first Parliamentary seat at the 1992 general election, as the Conservative candidate in West Bromwich East.

From 1991 to 1992, Crispin Blunt was a representative of the Forum of Private Business.

At the 1997 general election, Crispin Blunt was elected to Parliament as Member for Reigate in Surrey, succeeding the long-serving strongly Eurosceptic MP Sir George Gardiner, who had been deselected by the local Conservative Party.

Crispin Blunt was appointed to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee.

Crispin Blunt decided to resign at that time in the expectation that the Conservative Party would make over 500 gains in the 2003 local government elections, but in the belief that these would be achieved in spite of, rather than because of, Duncan Smith's leadership.

Crispin Blunt timed his resignation so that it became public after the polls closed but before the results were declared.

Crispin Blunt accepted that no challenge for the party leadership would be immediately forthcoming and returned to the back benches.

Crispin Blunt became a party whip under Howard, but on 9 June 2005, he took a leave of absence from that role to support the expected leadership bid of Malcolm Rifkind.

However, when Rifkind was knocked out of the party leadership contest, Crispin Blunt returned to the Whips' office and wrote to all party members in his constituency asking them to rank the remaining contenders in order of preference so he could best represent his constituents.

Crispin Blunt is a former joint chair of the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding.

Crispin Blunt's responsibilities included prisons and probation, youth justice, criminal law and sentencing policy, and criminal justice.

Crispin Blunt is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group.

In November 2013, Crispin Blunt was re-selected to stand in the 2015 general election for the Conservative Party, having undergone a postal ballot of constituency members.

In May 2014, Crispin Blunt was one of seven unsuccessful candidates for the chairmanship of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee.

On 19 June 2015, it was announced that Crispin Blunt had been elected to the chairmanship of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, a post he held until 12 July 2017 when he was defeated by Conservative candidate Tom Tugendhat.

In September 2017, Crispin Blunt was elected chair of the All Party Parliamentary Humanist Group, the cross-party group which represents humanists in Parliament.

Crispin Blunt said that he hoped for Ahmad Khan to return to public service.

Crispin Blunt's intervention was strongly condemned and members of the all-party parliamentary group on global LGBT+ affairs which was chaired by Crispin Blunt, resigned in protest.

Crispin Blunt later apologised for his comments and resigned as chair of the APPG.

In May 2022, Crispin Blunt backtracked on this apology and described Ahmad Khan's conviction as a "serious miscarriage of justice".

In 1998, Crispin Blunt argued against the equal age of consent for homosexuals and heterosexuals, stating that "It is clear that there is a much greater strand of homosexuality than of heterosexuality which depends for its gratification on the exploitation of youth".

In June 2016, Crispin Blunt championed LGBT rights, during the campaigning of the EU referendum, stating that the UK would be the "world's leading proponents of LGBTI rights, in or out of the EU".

Crispin Blunt has been described as "a long-term critic of Israel".

Crispin Blunt has called attention to the presence of prayers as part of Parliament's formal business.

Crispin Blunt put forward an Early Day Motion on the issue in 2019, arguing that the practice was discriminatory against non-religious MPs since those MPs who choose to pray are able to reserve a seat for parliamentary business that day and are more likely to ask questions; there are 650 elected MPs in the UK Parliament, but only enough seating for 427 at any one time.

Crispin Blunt is one of the most prominent Conservative advocates of transgender rights.

Crispin Blunt argues that supporting transgender individuals is an extension of the party's tradition of supporting individual liberty.

Crispin Blunt later stated regret for that part of his voting record.

On 16 October 2022, Crispin Blunt stated in his opinion that Liz Truss would have to resign as Prime Minister.

Crispin Blunt married Victoria Jenkins in September 1990 in Kensington and they have a daughter and son.

Crispin Blunt is a cricketer, a former member of the Parliamentarians team.

Crispin Blunt is a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club.

Crispin Blunt was released on police bail pending further investigation.

Crispin Blunt had the Conservative Party whip removed and subsequently sat as an independent MP for the remainder of the parliamentary session.

Crispin Blunt said that he expected to be cleared, and that he had previously reported an attempt of extortion to the police.