The Right Honourable  Edwina Currie
Minister of State for Health
In office 18 September 1986 – 20 December 1988
Born	13 October 1946 (1946-10-13) (age 61) Liverpool, England
Political party	Conservative

Edwina Currie Jones née Cohen, (born 13 October 1946) is a former British Member of Parliament. She served from 1983 to 1997 as a Conservative Party MP, including three years as Junior Health Minister, before resigning in 1988 because of a controversy over salmonella in eggs. The Right Honourable (abbreviated as or ) is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and in other Commonwealth Realms, and elsewhere. ... If you hold the copyright to an image (e. ... Minister of State is a title borne by officials in certain countries governed under the parliamentary system. ... is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Liverpool (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and the oldest political party in the United Kingdom. ... is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and the oldest political party in the United Kingdom. ... Species S. enterica This article is about the bacteria. ...

Early life

Currie was born in south Liverpool, England to an Orthodox Jewish family, although she states she is Jewish only culturally and genetically - she does not subscribe to what she calls 'religious mumbo jumbo'.[1] A pupil at Liverpool Institute High School for Girls,^[1] she studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at St Anne's College, Oxford University; subsequently, she took an MA in economic history at the London School of Economics. For other uses, see Liverpool (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... Liverpool Institute High School for Girls Liverpool, England was established in 1874. ... Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) is a popular interdisciplinary degree which combines study from the three eponymous disciplines. ... and of the St Annes College College name St Annes College Named after St Anne Established 1879 Sister college New Hall, Cambridge Principal Tim Gardam JCR President Kui-Sang Sze Undergraduates 437 Graduates 187 Location of St Annes College within central Oxford , Homepage Boatclub St Annes... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate course of one or two years in duration. ... Economic history is the study of economic change, and of economic phenomena in the past. ... Mascot: Beaver Affiliations: University of London Russell Group EUA ACU CEMS APSIA Universities UK U8 Golden Triangle G5 Group Website: http://www. ...

Member of Parliament

From 1975 to 1986, she served as a Birmingham City Councillor for Northfield. In 1983, she stood for parliament as a member of the Conservative Party, and was elected as the member for South Derbyshire. Frequently outspoken, she was described as "a virtually permanent fixture on the nation's TV screen saying something outrageous about just about anything" and "the most outspoken and sexually interested woman of her political generation." ^[2] This article is about the British city. ... Northfield constituency shown within Birmingham Northfield is an area in south-west Birmingham, England. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and the oldest political party in the United Kingdom. ... South Derbyshire is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

In 1986, she became a Junior Health Minister, but was forced to resign in 1988 after she issued a warning about salmonella in British eggs. The claim, that "most of the egg production in this country, sadly, is now affected with salmonella" ^[3] sparked outrage among farmers and egg producers, and caused egg sales in the country to plummet. ^[4] Species S. enterica This article is about the bacteria. ... Chicken egg (left) and quail eggs (right), the types of egg commonly used as food An egg is a body consisting of an ovum surrounded by layers of membranes and an outer casing of some type, which acts to nourish and protect a developing embryo. ...

She was, in 1991, the first Conservative MP to appear on the BBC topical panel show Have I Got News For You. Currie subsequently appeared again in a special episode commemorating the release of Margaret Thatcher's memoirs, opposite fellow Liverpudlian Derek Hatton. Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show; produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been running since 1990. ... A memoir, as a literary genre, forms a sub-class of autobiography. ... Derek Hatton (born 17 January 1948 in Liverpool) is a broadcaster, businessman and after-dinner speaker. ...

In 1992, she declined a request from prime minister John Major to take up the position of Minister of State in the Home Office.^[5] For other persons named John Major, see John Major (disambiguation). ... The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the United Kingdom Home Office and is responsible for internal affairs in England and Wales, and for immigration and citizenship for the whole United Kingdom (including Scotland and Northern Ireland). ...

In February 1994, she tabled an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill to equalise the age of consent for heterosexual and homosexual sex at 16. This amendment was defeated by 307 votes to 280, although a subsequent amendment resulted in the reduction of the homosexual age of consent from twenty one to eighteen; equalisation was achieved some years later.

In June 1994, she contested the European Parliament UK seat of Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes, but lost the seat to Labour's Eryl McNally by 94,837 votes to 61,628 votes.

Currie lost her parliamentary seat in the 1997 General Election. For five years (1998–2003), she hosted a late-evening talk show on BBC Radio Five Live, Late Night Currie. BBC Radio Five Live is the BBCs radio service providing live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries. ...

Personal life

In 1972, Edwina Cohen married accountant Ray Currie in Barnstaple, they had two children and divorced in 1997. On 24 May 2001 she married a second time, to retired detective John Jones in Southwark, whom she had met when he was a guest on her radio programme in 1999.^[6] Accountant, or Qualified Accountant, or Professional Accountant, is a certified accountancy and financial expert in the jurisdiction of many countries. ... Statistics Population: 34,000 (April 2006 Est. ... is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Gumshoe redirects here. ... For other places with the same name, see Southwark (disambiguation). ...

Author

Currie is the author of six novels: A Parliamentary Affair (1994), A Woman's Place (1996) She's Leaving Home (1997), The Ambassador (1999), Chasing Men (2000) and This Honourable House (2001). She has also written four works of non-fiction: Life Lines (1989), What Women Want (1990), Three Line Quips (1992) and Diaries 1987–92 (2002), which revealed an affair with former prime minister John Major. She remains an outspoken public figure, with a reputation for being "highly opinionated," ^[4] and currently earns her living as an author and media personality. For other persons named John Major, see John Major (disambiguation). ...

Media

From the time she lost her seat in 1997, she has maintained a presence in the media. For five years she presented a phone-in programme on BBC Radio Five Live, "Late Night Currie".^[7] In 2002 she moved to HTV, presenting the television programme "Currie Night" until 2003. Since then, she has appeared in a string of reality television programmes, such as Wife Swap, in which she and her second husband John swapped places with John McCririck and his wife, Jenny. She has also appeared in the reality cooking show Hell's Kitchen with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, and Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes, both in 2006.^[8] She won Celebrity Mastermind on 23 June 2004, specialising in "The Life of Marie Curie". ITV Wales & West Ltd (formally and more commonly known as HTV) is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England[1]. It is owned by ITV plc. ... // This article is about the genre of TV shows. ... Wife Swap is a reality television programme, produced by UK independent TV production company RDF Media. ... John McCririck (born 17 April 1940, Surbiton, Surrey is an English television horse racing pundit. ... Hells Kitchen is a British cookery-based ITV reality show. ... Gordon James Ramsay OBE (born November 8, 1966 in Johnstone) is a Scottish celebrity chef and currently one of only three chefs in the UK whose restaurant is rated at three Michelin stars. ... Stars In Their Eyes is a British television talent show in which contestants impersonate showbiz stars. ... is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Charity work

She took part in a sponsored cycle ride across Poland, near to the area where ancestors of hers lived, for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Marie Curie Cancer Care is a charitable organization in the United Kingdom that provides hands on nursing care, free of charge, to give terminally ill people the choice to be cared for and die at home. ...

Affair with John Major

Currie's Diaries (1987-92), published in 2002, caused a sensation, since they revealed a four-year affair with John Major, starting in 1984 and ending in 1988. The affair began when she was on the backbench, and Major was the government whip under Margaret Thatcher. After Major's rise to Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the relationship ended, but the two remained friends. Currie maintains that she ended the affair when it became dangerous and impractical, due to the presence of bodyguards who would need to be avoided. ^[5] For other persons named John Major, see John Major (disambiguation). ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (née Roberts; born 13 October 1925) served as British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 until 1990, being the first and only woman to hold either post. ... The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is a junior position in the British Cabinet. ...

Major was reportedly "ashamed" of the affair, and had privately revealed its existence to his wife. However, Currie admitted to being "in love" with him for years afterwards. ^[9] Weeks after revealing the affair, she publicly criticised Major, accusing him of sexism and racism, and being "one of the less competent prime ministers".^[10]

The admission came after years of denials of any affair in office, and after writing several novels with raunchy themes, such as A Parliamentary Affair. ^[4]

References

is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... is the 337th day of the year (338th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... is the 275th day of the year (276th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... is the 275th day of the year (276th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ...

External links

• Official website
• Extracts from her diaries
• Centre for Advancement of Women in Politics: biography
• BBC News: Major and Currie had four-year affair