Nigel David Jones, Baron Jones of Cheltenham (born 30 March 1948 Cheltenham, Gloucestershire ) is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom.

A Gloucestershire County Councillor from 1989, Jones was Member of Parliament for Cheltenham from 1992, when he won the seat from the Conservative Party, until he stepped down at the 2005 general election.

Attacked

On January 28 2000, deranged constituent Robert Ashman attacked Jones and his assistant, local councillor Andrew Pennington, with a samurai sword. Pennington was killed, and Jones was severely injured. Jones had written a character reference for Ashman when Ashman was nearly jailed after breaking the ribs of a tax collector in 1992. Ashman threatened a burglar with a penknife two years later, and had subsequently appeared on the Kilroy chat show to urge others to take the law into their own hands. He was found guilty of manslaughter and attempted murder. Though he had been detained at Broadmoor while awaiting trial, and despite the 'grave reservations' of the judge, he was sent to Kneesworth House medium-secure hospital after conviction. Pennington was posthumously awarded the George Medal for his attempts to protect Jones.

Peerage

On 13 May 2005 it was announced that Nigel Jones would be created a life peer, and the peerage was created on 20 June 2005 as Baron Jones of Cheltenham, of Cheltenham in the County of Gloucestershire. As well as many outside interests he acts as a non-executive consultant for Barlow Frith Communications a Buckinghamshire-based Public Relations consultancy.

References

External links

• Lord Jones of Cheltenham profile at the site of Liberal Democrats
• Cheltenham Liberal Democrats
• Guardian Politics Ask Aristotle - Nigel Jones
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Nigel Jones
• The Public Whip - Nigel Jones voting record
• BBC News - Nigel Jones profile 10 February, 2005
• http://www.barlowcomms.co.uk - PR consultancy.