Otis Ferry | |
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Born | Charles Frederick Otis Ferry 1 November 1982 |
Occupations |
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Known for | Prominent pro-fox hunting enthusiast |
Charles Frederick Otis Ferry (born 1 November 1982) is a British model and pro-fox hunting enthusiast. He has served as joint master of the South Shropshire hunt. [1]
He has been arrested and charged several times for activities relating to hunting, only one of which led to a conviction. [2]
The son of Bryan Ferry and Lucy Ferry, Ferry was educated at Marlborough College. [3]
Ferry was introduced to fox-hunting at the age of fifteen by Rory Knight Bruce, a field sports journalist, and soon developed a passion for it. [4]
In 2004, Tatler magazine put Ferry at number 2 in its list of the 200 "most desirable" men. [5] In 2007, he was modelling for Burberry. [6]
On 15 September 2004, Ferry and seven other pro-hunting protesters entered chamber of the House of Commons in protest at anti-hunting legislation. [7] After a short adjournment, the House then went on to approve the Hunting Bill by a majority of 356 to 166. [8] All eight men were charged with offences under the Public Order Act 1986 and denied the charges, [9] but they were later convicted, and each was fined £350 and given an 18-month conditional discharge. [10] [11]
In accepting a lifetime achievement award at the Q Awards of 2004, Bryan Ferry said he was dedicating it to his brave son. [12]
On 20 June 2005, Ferry appeared as a member of the BBC Television Question Time panel, together with Tony Benn, Justine Greening, Lembit Opik, and June Sarpong. [13] By then he was widely seen as the public face of the pro-hunting campaign. [14]
In 2007, Ferry became huntsman and joint master of the South Shropshire Hunt. At the age of 25, he was believed to be the youngest master of foxhounds in three hundred years. [15]
On 21 November 2007, after an incident with hunt protestors during a meet of the Heythrop Hunt at Lower Swell, Ferry was arrested on suspicion of common assault and robbery. It was alleged that he had taken a video camera from two hunt saboteurs who said they were investigating possible breaches of the Hunting Act 2004. [16] [17] He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice in connection with the common assault charge. Although he was initially granted bail, he was subsequently remanded in custody [18] [19] until shortly before the trial in 2009 when he was released on bail. [20] At that point he had spent four months in prison. [21] The Crown Prosecution Service subsequently decided not to proceed with the charges of perverting the course of justice, [22] and Ferry was formally acquitted of them in April 2009. [23] In May 2009 he was convicted on a lesser charge of "causing fear and stress". [21]
Speaking about his time in prison, Ferry claimed he had been imprisoned for his beliefs. [24] He later added "It was a doddle compared to public school". [25]
In the run-up to the British general election of 2015, Ferry headed Vote-OK, a campaign group which offered to supply canvassers for Conservative candidates who would support a repeal of the Hunting Act 2004. [26]
In 2020, Ferry was reported to be the long-term partner of Lady Alice Manners, the second daughter of David Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland, and to be living with her at Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire. [27]
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