Crispin Blunt

Crispin Blunt
Official portrait, 2020
Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee
In office
18 June 2015 – 12 July 2017
Preceded byRichard Ottaway
Succeeded byTom Tugendhat
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prisons and Youth Justice
In office
6 May 2010 – 4 September 2012
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byMaria Eagle
Succeeded byJeremy Wright
Member of Parliament
for Reigate
In office
1 May 1997 – 30 May 2024
Preceded bySir George Gardiner
Succeeded byRebecca Paul
Personal details
Born
Crispin Jeremy Rupert Blunt

(1960-07-15) 15 July 1960 (age 64)
West Germany
NationalityBritish
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations
Conservative (until 2023)
Spouse
Victoria Jenkins
(m. 1990; sep. 2010)
Children2
RelativesEmily Blunt (niece)
Alma materRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst
University College, Durham
Cranfield School of Management
OccupationPolitician
AwardsQueen's Medal
WebsitePersonal Website
Commons Website
Military service
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch/service British Army
Years of service1979–1990
RankCaptain
Unit13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own)

Crispin Jeremy Rupert Blunt (born 15 July 1960) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Reigate from 1997 to 2024.[1] Formerly a member of the Conservative Party, he was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prisons and Youth Justice within the Ministry of Justice from 2010 to 2012 and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee from 2015 until 2017.

Blunt first entered the House of Commons at the 1997 general election, when he replaced the then MP Sir George Gardiner, who had been deselected by the Constituency Conservative Association Executive Council and joined the Referendum Party. In 2013, Blunt was deselected by the Constituency Executive Council, with speculation that this was due to his public announcement that he was gay.[2] However, after a ballot of party members in Reigate, the decision was overturned by a margin of 5–1 and Blunt was reselected as the Conservative candidate for the 2015 general election.[3]

On 1 May 2022, he announced he would be standing down at the 2024 general election.[4] In October 2023, he was arrested on suspicion of rape and possession of controlled substances, and released on conditional bail. He subsequently had the Conservative Party whip removed, continuing to sit as an independent MP.[5][6]

  1. ^ "Crispin Blunt MP". Archived from the original on 12 August 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Crispin Blunt reselected as Tory MP following deselection attempt after he came out as gay". Pink News. London. 18 November 2013. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  3. ^ "Local Conservatives support Reigate's Crispin Blunt". BBC News. 18 November 2013. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  4. ^ "Crispin Blunt marks 25 Years as Member of Parliament for Reigate". blunt4reigate.com. May 2022. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  5. ^ Davis, Barney (26 October 2023). "Tory MP Crispin Blunt arrested on suspicion of rape and possession of drugs". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Tory MP Crispin Blunt arrested on suspicion of rape". BBC News. 26 October 2023. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.