Douglas Martin Hogg, 3rd Viscount Hailsham, Baron Hailsham of Kettlethorpe, PC, KC (born 5 February 1945), is a British politician and barrister. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in John Major’s second government as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from 1995 to 1997, and was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2010.
The Daily Telegraph in 2009 exposed Hogg for claiming upwards of £2,000 of taxpayers' money for the purposes of "cleaning the moat" of his country estate, Kettlethorpe Hall; thus he became one of the most prominent illustrations used by the media to portray the extent of the parliamentary expenses scandal, although it later emerged that Hogg had been encouraged by the House of Commons Fees Office (Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority's precursor) to submit equivalent en bloc expenses "so as to reduce admin". As a result of the negative publicity, Hogg did not seek re-election at the 2010 general election.
Aside from his hereditary peerage, he was made a life peer in the 2015 Dissolution Honours allowing him a seat in the House of Lords. As a member of the House of Lords he is styled Viscount Hailsham by parliamentary custom, the family title to which he succeeded in 2001.[1]
- ^ "Dissolution Peerages 2015". Gov.uk. Retrieved 27 August 2015.