Robert Davis (politician)

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Robert Davis
Born
Robert Jonathan Davis

September 1957 (age 61)
ResidenceLondon, England
NationalityBritish
Education Christ's College, Finchley
Alma mater Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
OccupationLawyer and politician
Political party Conservative
Partner(s)
Sir Simon Milton
(m. 2007;his death 2011)

Robert Jonathan Davis MBE DL (born September 1957) is a British lawyer and Conservative Party politician, the former deputy leader of the Westminster City Council, and chairman of its planning committee for 17 years. [1]

Westminster City Council local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England

Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council and is entitled to be known as a city council, which is a rare distinction in the United Kingdom. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 41 Conservative Party members and 19 Labour Party members. The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced three local authorities: Paddington Metropolitan Borough Council, St Marylebone Metropolitan Borough Council and Westminster Borough Council. The present-day city council provides some shared services with Hammersmith and Fulham, and with Kensington and Chelsea.

Contents

Early life

Robert Davis was born in September 1957. [2] He is the son of Gerald Davis (died 2000) and Pamela Davis née Lee. [3]

He was educated at Christ's College, Finchley, [3] followed by Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, [4] Wolfson College, Cambridge, after which he trained as a solicitor at the College of Law in London's Lancaster Gate. [5] He was admitted as a solicitor in October 1983. [6]

Christ's College is a secondary school with academy status in East Finchley, London, United Kingdom. It falls under the London Borough of Barnet Local Education Authority for admissions. Since September 2018, Christ’s College Finchley has offered outstanding education to both girls and boys joining Year 7. The school presently has 967 students and specialises in Maths and IT.

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge college of the University of Cambridge

Gonville & Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is the fourth-oldest college at the University of Cambridge and one of the wealthiest. The college has been attended by many students who have gone on to significant accomplishment, including fourteen Nobel Prize winners, the second-most of any Oxbridge college.

Wolfson College, Cambridge college of the University of Cambridge

Wolfson College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The majority of students at the college are postgraduates. The college also admits "mature" undergraduates, with around 15% of students studying undergraduate degree courses at the university. The college was founded in 1965 as "University College", but was refounded as Wolfson College in 1973 in recognition of the benefaction of the Wolfson Foundation. Wolfson is located to the south-west of Cambridge city centre, near the University Library.

From 1985 to 2015, Davis was a partner (now a consultant) in solicitors' firm Freeman Box, Bentinck Street, Marylebone, London, and he specialises in property law. [5] [3]

Marylebone inner-city area of central London

Marylebone is an area in the West End of London, England, which is part of the City of Westminster.

Political career

In 1982, Davis was first elected to Westminster City Council, and at the time of his resignation was its longest currently serving Councillor, with a tenure lasting 36 years. [7] He was also the longest-serving Westminster councillor since the borough's formation in 1965. Davis was initially elected for the Bayswater ward, before representing Lancaster Gate from 1986 onwards. [8]

From 1996 to 1997, he was the then youngest Lord Mayor of Westminster. [7] Davis was deputy leader of Westminster City Council from January 2017 until October 2018, and its Cabinet Member for Business, Culture and Heritage. [1] In October 2018, following criticism of "the large scale of gifts and hospitality" received by Davis from property developers, he resigned his position and seat. [9] [10]

Allegations

On 7 March 2018, Davis stood down from his roles after The Guardian reported into how he had received nearly 900 gifts or been entertained, during the period from 2012 to 2017, much of it from property developers. [11] [1]

Davis enjoyed hospitality from leading property developers, including Gerald Ronson, Sir Stuart Lipton, Brian Bickell [12] and Sir George Iacobescu. [1] Council rules require that any gifts or hospitality valued at £25 or more have to be declared, and Davis's register included trips to Switzerland, Spain, France, the US, and Scotland's Gleneagles Hotel and golf resort. [1]

Westminster's legal director is investigating whether Davis has breached the code of conduct, and the independent barrister James Goudie QC is helping with the investigation. [11]

The independent investigation by Sir Stephen Lamport, which reported in October 2018, found that Davis had "breached the code of conduct" and that his "acceptance of gifts and hospitality from developers before or after a planning decision may … have placed him in a position in which people might seek to influence him in the performance of his duties." [9] [10]

Honours and awards

Davis is a Deputy Lieutenant for Greater London. [7] In 2015, he was awarded an MBE for services to local government and planning. [7]

Personal life

His long-term partner (until his death in 2011) was Sir Simon Milton, who had been leader of Westminster City Council and Deputy Mayor of London to Boris Johnson. [4] In 2007, they entered into a civil partnership at London's Ritz Hotel. [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "'Freebie' councillor steps aside in probe". 8 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018– via www.bbc.co.uk.
  2. ↑ "Robert Jonathan DAVIS - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Lucy Hume (5 October 2017). People of Today 2017. Debrett's. pp. 1–. ISBN   978-1-9997670-3-7 . Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 "Sir Simon Milton". 12 April 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2018– via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  5. 1 2 "Cllr Robert Davis". www.newlondonarchitecture.org. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  6. ↑ http://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/person/278103/robert-jonathan-davis
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Robert Davis". City of Westminster Conservatives. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  8. ↑ Boothroyd, David (n.d.). "All Members of Westminster City Council". Westminster City Council Election Results. David Boothroyd. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  9. 1 2 Booth, Robert (10 October 2018). "Tory Westminster councillor resigns after hospitality inquiry". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Westminster councillor Robert Davis resigns over conduct investigation". BBC. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  11. 1 2 Booth, Robert; Duncan, Pamela (8 March 2018). "Westminster deputy leader took gifts in 50% of his planning cases". the Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  12. ↑
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