Patricia Hewitt

Patricia Hewitt

Patricia Hope Hewitt (born 2 December 1948) is a British Labour Party politician, who served in the Cabinet until 2007, most recently as Secretary of State for Health.

Originally a Tory, Hewitt soon became a high-profile left-winger and supporter of Tony Benn, being classified by MI5 as a communist sympathiser. After nine years as General Secretary of the National Council for Civil Liberties, she became press secretary to Neil Kinnock, whom she assisted in the modernisation of the Labour Party. In 1997, she became the first female MP for Leicester West, a safe Labour seat, which she represented for thirteen years.

In 2001, she joined Blair's cabinet as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, before becoming Health Secretary in 2005, chiefly remembered for getting smoking banned in public places, against heavy opposition. Hewitt has sparked many controversies, notably her selection of a female job-applicant over a stronger male candidate, and her theory that fathers may not be a useful influence in the upbringing of children.

In March 2010, Hewitt was suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party over the question of political lobbying irregularities, alleged by the Channel 4 Dispatches programme.