Arthur Maundy Gregory
Arthur Maundy Gregory was born on 1st July 1877, the son of a Southampton clergyman, Gregory attended school on the town and progressed to Oxford University. He left before attaining a degree and at first went into the teaching profession and than became an actor-manager.
In 1909 he was recruited into MI5 with the task of keeping possible foreign spies in London under scrutiny. On the formation of M16, Sidney Riley ["The Prince of Spies"] saw his potential and persuaded him to join him.
Gregory with his theatrical connections and contacts was skilled in building close confidential contacts with society including leading politicians. It is believed that he built a dossier on the sexual tastes of politicians which may have led to his blackmailing them.
Gregory was assigned to gather information on IRA supporters and an ex MP Victor Grayson with his well known support for the new Russian government. Gregory also mixed in the highest circles and befriended the Duke of York [later King George VI] and the liberal leader David Lloyd George.
Victor Grayson discovered that Gregory was spying on him and decided to reverse the role and discovered that Gregory was involved with Lloyd George in selling honours for cash in order to raise funds for his political party.
Arthur Maundy Gregory
Grayson made strong hints that he knew of the corruption and would expose the culprits. Whilst out drinking with some friends, Grayson received a telephone call at the restaurant and excused himself saying that he had to meet a business contact. Grayson was never seen alive again and no body was ever recovered that could be identified to be his.
Gregory continued to sell honours and famously he arranged a forged letter to be published in the press which lead to the defeat of Labour in 1924.
A Scotland Yard officer was offered a knighthood by Gregory in 1932 in exchange for favours and this led to his arrest and subsequent trial. Many of his contacts feared political exposure if their names were disclosed in the inquiries and it is believed that large sums of money changed hands to buy Gregory's silence. Gregory was sentenced to 2 months imprisonment.
On his release influential friends persuaded him to move to Paris where the Conservative Party paid him £2000 per year as a pension until his death in 1941.
In 2006 Scotland Yard made inquiries of the Blair government under the same law that convicted Gregory [The Honours [Prevention of Corruption] Act 1925], Several donors of very large sums to the Labour Party were awarded peerages.After a long and intensive [and very expensive] inquiry, the CPS elected not to bring any charges.
Gregory continued to sell honours and famously he arranged a forged letter to be published in the press which lead to the defeat of Labour in 1924.
A Scotland Yard officer was offered a knighthood by Gregory in 1932 in exchange for favours and this led to his arrest and subsequent trial. Many of his contacts feared political exposure if their names were disclosed in the inquiries and it is believed that large sums of money changed hands to buy Gregory's silence. Gregory was sentenced to 2 months imprisonment.
On his release influential friends persuaded him to move to Paris where the Conservative Party paid him £2000 per year as a pension until his death in 1941.
In 2006 Scotland Yard made inquiries of the Blair government under the same law that convicted Gregory [The Honours [Prevention of Corruption] Act 1925], Several donors of very large sums to the Labour Party were awarded peerages.After a long and intensive [and very expensive] inquiry, the CPS elected not to bring any charges.