35 Facts About Jonathan Sayeed

Jonathan Sayeed was born on 20 March 1948 and is an Anglo-Indian British politician who was a Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom from 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2005.

Jonathan Sayeed was the only member of the Conservative front bench who consistently, openly and publicly opposed the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Jonathan Sayeed was criticised by the Committee on Standards and Privileges for being "at the least careless, at the worst negligent" in respect of a company in which he had an interest, but no evidence was found that he had directly received any improper payments.

Jonathan Sayeed is the son of the late M M Sayeed, a chartered electrical engineer from India, and L S Sayeed.

Jonathan Sayeed joined the Royal Navy in 1965, when he was 17.

Jonathan Sayeed spent two years at Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, and then studied at the Royal Naval Engineering College, Manadon, for a BSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Jonathan Sayeed left the Navy in 1973, at the age of 24.

Whilst he was MP for Mid Bedfordshire, Jonathan Sayeed lived in Westminster, and had a house in Houghton Conquest.

Jonathan Sayeed was a member of the Reform Club and is a member of the Carlton Club.

Jonathan Sayeed's interests include golf, sailing, tennis, skiing, classical music, books and architecture.

Jonathan Sayeed was twice an unsuccessful candidate for the Greater London Council before entering Parliament at his first attempt.

Jonathan Sayeed was elected MP for Bristol East at the 1983 general election, where he defeated Tony Benn.

Jonathan Sayeed served on the select committees for Defence and the Environment; was chairman of the Shipping and Shipbuilding Committee; and deputy chairman of the All-Party Maritime Group.

Jonathan Sayeed started to climb the ministerial ladder in 1991, when he was appointed parliamentary private secretary to Lord Belstead as Paymaster General.

In 1996, Jonathan Sayeed sold his public affairs company, and was appointed chairman of the training division of Corporate Services Group plc.

Jonathan Sayeed returned to Parliament as MP for Mid Bedfordshire at the 1997 general election, having defeated the incumbent MP, Sir Nicholas Lyell, the Attorney General, for the nomination, and held the seat until 2005.

Jonathan Sayeed served on the Broadcasting Select Committee, and was appointed by the Speaker of the House of Commons to the Chairman's Panel.

Jonathan Sayeed was chairman of European Standing Committee C, was joint-chairmen of the Standing Committee on Regional Affairs.

Jonathan Sayeed achieved his first frontbench post in 2001, when he was appointed shadow minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, working under the Shadow Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary, Peter Ainsworth.

Jonathan Sayeed said that military might alone would not be enough to deal with the problem.

An article by Jonathan Sayeed was published in The Guardian on 24 January 2003: entitled An undemocratic war.

Whilst he was MP for Bristol East, Jonathan Sayeed called for the establishment of charity-run hostels for the homeless on derelict council land.

Economically, Jonathan Sayeed was on the right of the Conservative party, opposing British entry into the single European currency.

Jonathan Sayeed urged for new roads to regenerate towns and inner-cities.

Jonathan Sayeed campaigned against a proposed 17-tonne lorry ban, against illegal sites for travellers, and against 'unnecessary' development of the Bedfordshire countryside.

Jonathan Sayeed successfully persuaded the UK government to propose amendments to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty and, despite opposition from the then Secretary of State for the Environment Nicholas Ridley, persuaded the Conservative government to permit an Urban Development Corporation in Bristol.

For much of the time when Jonathan Sayeed was MP for Mid-Bedfordshire, the chairman of the local constituency party was Alexandra Messervy.

Messervy became one of Jonathan Sayeed's part-time paid assistants in the House of Commons.

However, there is no evidence that Jonathan Sayeed received any direct financial benefit for this.

The meeting decided by a majority of 173 to 126, that Jonathan Sayeed should remain the Conservative candidate in the forthcoming general election.

On 21 February 2005, the constituency party chairman's wife, Mrs Valmai A Green, and another member, wrote to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, enclosing a letter Jonathan Sayeed had sent to members of the Mid-Bedfordshire Conservative Association, and asking if Jonathan Sayeed should have used House of Commons stationery and facilities for this.

In March 2005, Jonathan Sayeed was criticised by the House of Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges for his use of allowances and Parliament's stationery.

Jonathan Sayeed was one of two Conservative MPs who had the party whip withdrawn at the time of the election.

Jonathan Sayeed retired from Parliament at the general election of 2005, and is currently a chairman of various companies.

On 19 July 2005, the House of Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges concluded that, in making ACA claims in respect of an ineligible property, Mr Jonathan Sayeed did not properly observe the administrative rules relating to the allowance, and therefore breached the Code of Conduct in this respect.