Keith Hellawell QPM was born on 18 May 1942 and is a British retired police officer, former UK Government drugs-czar, ex-chairman of Sports Direct plc.
17 Facts About Keith Hellawell
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Keith Hellawell was born 18 May 1942 in Kirkburton, near Huddersfield, Yorkshire, UK.
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Keith Hellawell went to school at Kirkburton Secondary Modern School until the age of 15, when he left without a single exam pass, then went to Dewsbury Technical College and Barnsley College of Mining.
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Keith Hellawell started work as a coal miner in 1958 but left to pursue a career in the Huddersfield Borough Police in 1962, gaining entry at the second attempt.
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Keith Hellawell became Britain's youngest police sergeant at the age of 23, and its youngest Inspector at 26.
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Keith Hellawell received the Queen's Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 1990.
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Keith Hellawell completed an MSc in Social Policy from Cranfield University and an external degree in Law from the University of London.
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Keith Hellawell later became Chief Constable of Cleveland police and in 1993 became Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police.
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Keith Hellawell has strong views on terrorists, child murderers and police murderers, believing all should face the death penalty.
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Keith Hellawell was the New Labour government's drugs adviser and so-called "drugs czar" from January 1998.
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Keith Hellawell resigned from his position in July 2002 over the government's reclassification of cannabis from a Class B to a Class C substance.
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Since 2006 Hellawell has been chairman of Goldshield Group plc.
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Keith Hellawell served as chairman of Sports Direct from 2009 to 2018.
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In September 2015, Keith Hellawell faced pressure to remove him as chairman of the company by minority shareholders.
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Keith Hellawell resigned from his position as Sports Direct chairman in September 2018, on the day of the company's AGM.
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Keith Hellawell has been a director of the Huddersfield Giants since 2002 and became interim chairman in March 2021 when the club's owner and chair Ken Davy took over as interim Super League chair.
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Keith Hellawell was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Bradford in 1998, and an honorary degree by Leeds Metropolitan University in 1997.