The Rt Hon. Paul Boateng preaching at a Christian Aid service in Wesley Memorial (Methodist) Church, Oxford, 2005, a few days before taking up the post as High Commissioner to South Africa.

Son Benjamin accused of rape Benjamin Boateng, the 21 year-old son of Paul Boateng was accused of rape on January 1st 2006 by a 17 year old white girl in South Africa when he was visiting his father there. Benjamin Boateng, a university student in the UK, who met the girl at a night club whilst drinking champagne, admits having sex with the girl in an alley outside the club and on the beach but denies raping her. According to the ‘Evening Standard’ (January 25th 2006), a friend of the Boatengs, who would only be named as Sophie said: “The allegations were made by someone desperate enough to ruin his life for the sake of making money. She was a table-whore - a girl who wanders around a nightclub looking for rich men to prey on.” [1] The ‘Evening Standard’ (January 25th 2006) reported that Benjamin Boateng ‘spent an agonising 18 days waiting to be cleared of the allegations and being allowed to fly home’ [2]. This explanation differs from that by ‘The Scotsman’ (January 21st 2006), which claims that the prosecuting authority, after making an attempt to hush up the matter, decided after “careful consideration” that there was “no reasonable prospect” of securing a prosecution. National Prosecution Authority spokesman, Makhosini Nkosi, had earlier confirmed confirmed that police had investigated and added that the question of diplomatic immunity needed to be taken into account (Daily Mail, 13th January 2006). A police source said: "She claims they were violent rapes -so much so that she suffered injuries. "Statements will have been taken from both the victim and the accused but it's not normal for any details of the offence to be released until a formal plea has been taken. "It's being treated with the utmost sensitivity in view of the status of the people involved." It usually takes up to four months for files to be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions in South Africa. But in this case a decision is expected by tomorrow. A police source said: "There's no question it has been fast-tracked. Someone clearly wants it resolved in a hurry." (The Sun, 12th January, 2006). In 2001, while still at an exclusive private school, Benjamin began a fledgling acting career when he appeared at London's Royal Court Theatre playing an asylum seeker in a play called Credible Witness (Daily Mail, January 13th 2006). Benjamin plays a boy who has just been admitted to the country and the play shows how unfair life is (Evening Standard, February 27th 2001). Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (496x706, 67 KB) The Rt Hon. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (496x706, 67 KB) The Rt Hon. ... Activists from Christian Aid lobbying for Trade Justice Christian Aid promotion to buy goats to assist children of Rwanda Christian Aid is an agency of the major Christian churches in the United Kingdom and Ireland. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Paul Yaw Boateng (born June 14, 1951) is a British Labour Party politician. He became the UK's first black Cabinet minister in May 2002 when he was appointed as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Brent South from 1987 to 2005, and is the current British High Commissioner to South Africa. June 14 is the 165th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (166th in leap years), with 200 days remaining. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... The Labour Party has been, since its founding in the early 20th century, the principal political party of the left in the United Kingdom. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ... In the Politics of the United Kingdom, the Cabinet is a formal body comprised of government officials chosen by the Prime Minister. ... The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is a junior position in the British Cabinet. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... Brent South is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... . ...

Background and early life

Boateng was born in Hackney, London of mixed Ghanaian and Scottish heritage. He lived in Ghana, where his father was a cabinet minister under Kwame Nkrumah, until the 1966 coup that ousted Nkrumah. The family moved to Hemel Hempstead where he attended Apsley Grammar School. After graduating from the University of Bristol, he became a civil rights lawyer, originally as a solicitor, though he later retrained as a barrister. He gained some notoriety through this work in Lambeth in the late 1970s, when he was a familiar figure at protests against the kinds of police activity that built up to the 1981 Brixton Riot. Hackney Town Hall was built in the 1930s for the old Metropolitan Borough. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic, Scots3 Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  -  First Minister Jack McConnell... Kwame Nkrumah with Martin Luther King, Jr. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... Hemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire, England with a population of 81,143 at the 2001 Census. ... Apsley Grammar School was a state Grammar school in Hemel Hempstead founded in 1957 as part of the growth of the town after being designated as a New town and the need for new secondary school provision. ... The University of Bristol is a university in Bristol, England. ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... A solicitor is a type of lawyer in many common law jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, but not the United States (in the United States the word has a quite different meaning—see below). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The London Borough of Lambeth is a London borough in South London, England and forms part of Inner London. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Brixton riot of April 11, 1981 was the most serious riot in London of the century. ...

Political career

Boateng was elected to the Greater London Council in 1981 as a member of Labour's left wing and a supporter of Ken Livingstone. As chair of the GLC's police committee and vice-chair of its ethnic minorities committee, he continued to be a persistent critic of the police, especially in relation to their dealings with the black and Asian communities. Arms of the Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born June 17, 1945) is an English politician who became Mayor of London on the creation of the post in 2000. ... A Masai man in Kenya Black people or blacks is a political, social or cultural classification of people. ... This article deals primarily or exclusively with the definition of Asian in English-speaking countries, mainly referring to immigrants or descendants of immigrants living therein. ...

He stood, and lost, as a parliamentary candidate for Hertfordshire West in the 1983 general election. He had more success in the general election of 1987, when he was elected to the House of Commons for Brent South in succession to Laurence Pavitt, becoming one of the first three black MPs (the others being Bernie Grant and Diane Abbott). During his victory speech he famously declared, "Brent South today, Soweto tomorrow!" West Hertfordshire was a parliamentary constituency in Hertfordshire. ... The UK general election, 1983 was held on June 9, 1983 and gave the Conservatives and Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945. ... Margaret Thatcher David Steel Election 1987 Titles The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987 and was the third consecutive victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher. ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Brent South is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Laurence Anstice Pavitt (1 February 1914 - 14 December 1989) was a Labour and Co-operative Party politician in the United Kingdom. ... Bernard Alexander Montgomery Grant (17 February 1944 - 8 April 2000), known simply as Bernie Grant, was a politician in the United Kingdom, and was Labour member of Parliament for Tottenham at the time of his death. ... Diane Julie Abbott (born September 27, 1953 in Paddington, London) is a British Labour Party Member of Parliament, representing the Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency. ... Johannesburg, including Soweto, from the International Space Station Soweto is an urban area in the City of Johannesburg, in Gauteng, South Africa. ...

Like many other members of the left in the 1980s, he became more moderate under the leadership of Neil Kinnock, who made him a junior spokesman in 1989. In 1992, he became shadow minister for the Lord Chancellor's Department, a post he held until the 1997 general election. Rt. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... The Lord Chancellors Department was a United Kingdom government department. ... The UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997. ...

With Labour's victory, Boateng became the UK's first black government minister (that is, of African or Afro-Caribbean descent), as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health (UK) (Baron Sinha, an Indian, was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for India in the House of Lords in 1919). In 1998 Boateng became a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office and subsequently became Minister for State for Home Affairs. At the time a loyal supporter of the New Labour project, he defended the police and criticised his former GLC colleague Ken Livingstone's mayoral campaign. A Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, in the United Kingdom government structure, is a minister who is junior to a Minister of State who is then junior to a Secretary of State. ... The Department of Health headquarters in Whitehall The Department of Health is a department of the United Kingdom government. ... Satyendra Prasanno Sinha, 1st Baron Sinha of Raipur (24 March 1863 – 5 March 1928) was a prominent lawyer and statesman in British India. ... This is a list of Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State and Permanent Under-Secretaries of State at the India Office during the period of British rule between 1866 and 1948, and for Burma from 1858-1948. ... This article is about the British House of Lords. ... A Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, in the United Kingdom government structure, is a minister who is junior to a Minister of State who is then junior to a Secretary of State. ... The modern concept of Small Office and Home Office or SoHo , or Small or Home Office deals with the category of business which can be from 1 to 10 workers. ... New Labour is an alternative name of the British political Labour Party. ... Ken Livingstone, the current Mayor of London The Mayor of London is an elected politician in London, United Kingdom. ...

In 2001, he was made Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and stepped up to become Chief Secretary to the Treasury and so a member of the Cabinet in May 2002. He had been senior to Charles Clarke when both were at the Home Office, though Clarke was appointed Home Secretary when David Blunkett resigned. 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a junior Ministerial post in the UK Treasury. ... The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is a junior position in the British Cabinet. ... The Rt Hon. ... The modern concept of Small Office and Home Office or SoHo , or Small or Home Office deals with the category of business which can be from 1 to 10 workers. ... 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). ... David Blunkett (born 6 June 1947) is a British Labour Party politician and has been Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside since 1987. ...

In March 2005, he announced that he would not stand for re-election as an MP in the May 2005 general election. Labour having won the election in May 2005, he was named as the next High Commissioner to South Africa, replacing Ann Grant. Dawn Butler was selected by the local Constituency Labour Party to replace him and was elected by a comfortable margin. Butler is only the third black female MP in the commons (Diane Abbott and Oona King being the others, King being of mixed race). 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005. ... A High Commissioner is a person serving in a special executive capacity. ... Dawn Petula Butler (born November 3, 1969) is the Labour Member of Parliament for Brent South. ... A Constituency Labour Party (CLP) is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular parliamentary constituency in England, Scotland and Wales. ... Diane Julie Abbott (born September 27, 1953 in Paddington, London) is a British Labour Party Member of Parliament, representing the Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency. ... Oona Tamsyn King (born October 22, 1967, in Sheffield) is an English politician. ... The terms multiracial, biracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestors are not of a single race. ...

Boateng was featured on an episode of current affairs spoof The Day Today, in which Chris Morris complained to him about the explicit content in music by fictional artists such as 'Herman the Tosser'. The Day Today is a surreal British parody of television current affairs programmes. ... Chris Morris in Brass Eye Chris Morris (born September 5, 1965 in Bristol, England) is an English comedy writer, satirist and radio DJ. Morris grew up in Cambridgeshire; both his parents were doctors. ...

Son Benjamin accused of rape

Benjamin Boateng, the 21 year-old son of Paul Boateng was accused of rape on January 1st 2006 by a 17 year old white girl in South Africa when he was visiting his father there. Benjamin Boateng, a university student in the UK, who met the girl at a night club whilst drinking champagne, admits having sex with the girl in an alley outside the club and on the beach but denies raping her. According to the ‘Evening Standard’ (January 25th 2006), a friend of the Boatengs, who would only be named as Sophie said: “The allegations were made by someone desperate enough to ruin his life for the sake of making money. She was a table-whore - a girl who wanders around a nightclub looking for rich men to prey on.” [1] The ‘Evening Standard’ (January 25th 2006) reported that Benjamin Boateng ‘spent an agonising 18 days waiting to be cleared of the allegations and being allowed to fly home’ [2]. This explanation differs from that by ‘The Scotsman’ (January 21st 2006), which claims that the prosecuting authority, after making an attempt to hush up the matter, decided after “careful consideration” that there was “no reasonable prospect” of securing a prosecution. National Prosecution Authority spokesman, Makhosini Nkosi, had earlier confirmed confirmed that police had investigated and added that the question of diplomatic immunity needed to be taken into account (Daily Mail, 13th January 2006). A police source said: "She claims they were violent rapes -so much so that she suffered injuries. "Statements will have been taken from both the victim and the accused but it's not normal for any details of the offence to be released until a formal plea has been taken. "It's being treated with the utmost sensitivity in view of the status of the people involved." It usually takes up to four months for files to be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions in South Africa. But in this case a decision is expected by tomorrow. A police source said: "There's no question it has been fast-tracked. Someone clearly wants it resolved in a hurry." (The Sun, 12th January, 2006). In 2001, while still at an exclusive private school, Benjamin began a fledgling acting career when he appeared at London's Royal Court Theatre playing an asylum seeker in a play called Credible Witness (Daily Mail, January 13th 2006). Benjamin plays a boy who has just been admitted to the country and the play shows how unfair life is (Evening Standard, February 27th 2001).

External links

• BBC story about Boateng stepping down
• Paul Boateng - Aristotle profile from The Guardian
• Paul Boateng - profile from TheyWorkForYou.com
• New High Commissioner to South Africa - FCO Announcement