Belinda Claire De Camborne Lucy (born 15 October 1976) is a British politician who has been Reform UK's Education and Families spokesperson since 2023.[1] She was previously a Brexit Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 2019 to 2020. In the European Parliament, she was a member of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, and part of the delegation to the EU–Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee.[2]
Belinda de Lucy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the European Parliament for South East England | |
| In office 2 July 2019 – 31 January 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Nirj Deva |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 October 1976 Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England |
| Political party | Reform UK |
| Spouse | Raymond McKeeve |
| Children | 4 |
| Occupation | Politician |
Early life
editBelinda Claire De Camborne Lucy was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, on 15 October 1976.[3][2] Her great-grandfather was Edward Selby Little, a missionary in China, and a co-founder of the resort town of Guling, Jiujiang.[4][5][6]
Political career
editIn the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum de Lucy campaigned for Brexit with the Leave Means Leave and Ladies for Leave groups.[7][8] In the 2019 European parliamentary election she stood as a candidate for the Brexit Party in the South East England constituency. She was fourth on her party's list and was elected as one of its four MEPs in the constituency.[9][10] In the European Parliament she was a member of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, and part of the delegation to the EU–Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee.[2]
In March 2023 de Lucy returned to politics as Reform UK's Education and Families spokesperson.[1][11]
Personal life
editDe Lucy is married to Raymond McKeeve and they have four children.[8][12] McKeeve is a senior partner at corporate firm Dial Partners.[13] He was a senior advisor at the legal firm Avonhurst, group chief transaction and legal officer at Cingo Global, and a part-time senior advisor and non-executive director at Azura Partners, and a private equity specialist and corporate finance partner at the law firm Jones Day.[14] Avonhurst was set up by a former Jones Day partner in July 2019. McKeeve had left Jones Day in 2020 after being accused of contempt of court. The charge stemmed from his advice to one of the founders of Ocado to "burn" a messaging application after receiving a High Court search order in July 2019. He denied the charge but suggested that he had done so to protect his wife from potential litigation.[15][16][17] McKeeve was subsequently fined £25,000 and ordered to pay a further £610,353 in legal costs to Ocado in October 2022 after being found guilty of contempt of court in August 2022.[13][18]
De Lucy was a trustee of the charity Give Us Time, which was founded by former Secretary of State for Defence Liam Fox in 2012.[19][20]
References
edit- ^ a b "Reform UK Departmental Team Responsibilities". Reform UK. March 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ a b c "Belinda De Lucy". European Parliament. 15 October 1976. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ "Belinda Claire De Camborne Lucy MEP". Reigate and Banstead Borough Council. Retrieved 9 August 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "My grandma was a missionary in China". BBC News. 3 December 2003. Archived from the original on 27 February 2004. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ Spurling, Hilary (27 March 2010). "China's magic mountain". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ Hsu, Huan (4 April 2015). "In search of my family's buried treasure". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ Morris, James (14 January 2019). "Brexit deal vote: Tensions rise outside Parliament as furious rows break out between Leavers and Remainers". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ a b Evans, Greg (2 March 2019). "Brexit campaign 'Ladies for Leave' roasted for vowing to 'protect our children's votes'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ "2019 European elections: List of candidates for the South East". BBC News. 28 April 2019. Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ "European elections 2019: Brexit Party tops South East poll". BBC News. 27 May 2019. Archived from the original on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- ^ De Lucy, Belinda (March 2023). "Big News!!! The gang is getting back together and throwing our weight behind Reform UK". Twitter. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ Onita, Laura (21 December 2019). "Ocado dispute lawyer admits destroying evidence to protect Brexit MEP wife". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 January 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2022.(subscription required)
- ^ a b Nair, Krishnan; Patel, Varsha (5 October 2022). "Ex-Jones Day Partner Raymond McKeeve Ordered to Pay £635,000 in Ocado Battle". ALM. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "Mr Raymond McKeeve". University of Exeter. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ Tillay, Meganne (30 July 2020). "Raymond McKeeve Joins Former Jones Day Colleague's Boutique". ALM. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ Hyde, John (30 June 2022). "'Burn it' solicitor: Destroying evidence was 'utterly stupid'". The Law Society Gazette. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ Baksi, Catherine (1 July 2022). "I gave stupid advice in Ocado case, says solicitor Raymond McKeeve". The Times. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.(subscription required)
- ^ Goss, Louis (5 October 2022). "City lawyer avoids jail after telling client to 'burn' evidence in Ocado case". City A.M. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "About". Give Us Time. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ "Give Us Time". Companies House. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.