Chris Mullin Keynote Speaker

Chris Mullin stood down as Labour MP for Sunderland South in 2010, after 23 years as an MP. During his parliamentary career he was a minister in the Department of Environment (1999-2001), International Development (2001) and Africa minister at the Foreign Office (2003-05). Chris was also Chairman of the Home Affairs Committee (1997-99 and 2001-03).

Before being elected as an MP, he was a journalist working for the Granada current affairs programme World in Action, and was pivotal in securing the release of the Birmingham Six, a long-standing miscarriage of justice. He was also editor of the Tribune newspaper (1982-84).

Chris published his first novel “A Very British Coup” in 1988. The TV adaptation in 1988 won BAFTA and Emmy awards and was shown in more than 30 countries. It describes the destabilisation (and ultimate replacement) of a left wing British government by the forces of the Establishment.

His other books include three highly acclaimed volumes of diaries A Walk-On Part (Profile Books, 2012), Decline & Fall (Profile Books, 2011) and A View from the Foothills (Profile Books, 2010).