Recently knighted, Gerald Kaufman was asked what sort of knight he would make. “A knight of the long knives” he replied. A rebel at school, a left-winger at Oxford, an abrasive contributor to “TW3”, a member of Harold Wilson’s kitchen cabinet, he says: “I’ve reached the stage when I am condescendingly tolerated by some people who used to regard me as dangerous.” He is known as a master of the snappy sound bite, a skill he perfected while writing headlines on the Daily Mirror and later honed in the House. He is most proud of having served his constituents in Manchester since 1970, “the longest continuous period of any of the city’s MPs for 300 years”. His main parliamentary objective is to get a ban on hunting with dogs. “I’ve been trying ever since I first came into the House and I really don’t want this issue to dominate the second half of my service in the Commons.” Sir Gerald Kaufman is 74 today.
RGT
Prince William is 22 today.
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Benazir Bhutto, Prime Minister of Pakistan, 1988-90, and 1993-96, 51; Don Black, lyricist, 66; Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe, 62; Christopher Brown, director and chief executive, NSPCC, 1989-95, 66; Professor Anna Davies, philologist, 67; John Edrich, former cricketer, 67; Wally Fawkes, cartoonist, 80; Sir Bernard Ingham, chief press secretary to the Prime Minister, 1979-90, 72; Professor Patricia Lindop, radiobiologist, 74; Ian McEwan, author, 56; Sir Michael McWilliam, director of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University, 1989-96, 71; Sir Michael Marshall, MP for Arundel, 1974-97, 74; Peter Marshall, Commissioner, City of London Police, 74; Sir John Morgan, former diplomat, 75; Sir Edwin Nixon, chairman of IBM UK Holdings, 1986-90, 79; R.C. Poulton, Head Master of Christ’s Hospital, Horsham, 1987-96, 66; Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Foreign Secretary, 1995-97, 58; Sir Hugh Rossi, Conservative MP 1966-1992 , 77; Jane Russell, actress, 83; Lord Saatchi, partner of M & C Saatchi Agency, 58; Françoise Sagan, author, 69.