21 Facts About Ivan Lawrence

Sir Ivan John Lawrence was born on 24 December 1936 and is a former British Conservative Member of Parliament and criminal barrister.

Ivan Lawrence read Jurisprudence at Christ Church, Oxford, where he became president of the Oxford University Progressive Jewish Society.

Ivan Lawrence has defended in over 90 murder trials, and has appeared in many notable criminal trials, being, for example, Junior Counsel for the Kray twins, leading counsel for the serial killer Dennis Nilsen, Russell Bishop, the Mountnessing silver bullion robbery, the Brink's-Mat gold bullion money-laundering, and trials involving such gangland notables as "Mad" Frankie Fraser and Joey Pyle.

Ivan Lawrence has been partly responsible for a number of improvements in Criminal Justice such as the introduction of tape recorded police interviews with suspects and the law against suspicious transactions.

Ivan Lawrence was elected Head of Chambers at One Essex Court.

Ivan Lawrence, having twice unsuccessfully stood for the Peckham constituency in 1966 and 1970, was elected MP for Burton in February 1974.

Ivan Lawrence held the seat until May 1997 when he lost to Labour's Janet Dean.

Ivan Lawrence was a member of the Conservative Monday Club in 1973 when in the autumn of that year he had contributed an article to Monday News on the subject of "The Problem of State Subsidised Strikers".

Ivan Lawrence is listed as a Club MP in May 1975, in a Club office list as one of their MP members in July 1976, and in a Club members' circular as one of its members standing for re-election to Parliament for Burton in the General Election on 9 June 1983.

Ivan Lawrence has been an active member of the Conservative Bow Group for over 50 years and has contributed to many of its publications over that period.

Ivan Lawrence was a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee from 1982 to 1992, and served on a number of other Parliamentary Committees concerned with health, employment, social services, law and order and the consolidation of statutes.

Ivan Lawrence was a founder member of the European Research Group, the originating force behind Brexit.

Ivan Lawrence was Chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel, was a member for several years of the Executive Committee of the 1922 Committee, which represents Conservative backbenchers.

Ivan Lawrence is a member of 5 Pump Court Chambers, a Fellow of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies, was an elected member of the Bar Council and is Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Buckingham.

Ivan Lawrence was admitted to the degree of Doctor of Laws "Honoris Causa" by the University in March 2013.

Ivan Lawrence is well known as an after-dinner and cruise-line speaker.

Ivan Lawrence is a Freeman of the City of London, Vice-President of the Society of Conservative Lawyers, President of the Spelthorne constituency Conservative Association, was a deputy for the Board of Deputies of British Jews for 40 years, and was a trustee of the Holocaust Educational Trust.

Ivan Lawrence married Gloria, whom he had met at the Oxford University Progressive Jewish Society, at the West London Synagogue in April 1966.

Ivan Lawrence died of brain cancer, following terminal lung cancer, on 4 October 2016.

Ivan Lawrence died of lung failure caused by cystic fibrosis, aged 45 years on 6 September 2013.

Ivan Lawrence was portrayed by Pip Torrens in Des, a 2020 docudrama focusing on Dennis Nilsen.