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Lady
Olga Maitland is a well known campaigner on defence and foreign affairs
issues.
In
March 1983 she launched a pro-NATO campaign against the anti-nuclear
protest movement, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. At that time they
were calling for one-sided nuclear disarmament in the face of a Soviet
build up of medium range nuclear weapons.
Campaigning
under the banner of Families for
Defence and supported by
her vice chairmen, who subsequently rose to the top ranks of
Parliament, Dame Angela Rumbold, Rt. Hon. Mrs.Virginia Bottomley, MP,
Rt. Hon. Ann Widdicombe, MP, and Mrs. Angela Browning, MP , Olga
Maitland led a vigorous debate across the country into television
studios, on the radio, in the universities and town halls. She
organised high profile demonstrations against the anti-nuclear protest
movements which took place in Trafalgar Square, Greenham Common
airbase, Molesworth airbase, Faslane submarine base etc.
At
the same time she challenged
them during the Talks about Talks
summits between the Americans and the then Soviets in Geneva. Olga
Maitland's campaigns took her to Washington where she had a one-on-one
meeting with President Reagan in the Oval Office at the White House,
and to Rome where she had an audience with H.H. The Pope. Finally in
Moscow during the Reagan – Gorbachev Summit Olga Maitland met
with all the leading members of the Soviet government including a
private meeting with Primakov, as well as the head of the Soviet Peace
Committee, Generich Borovic.
With
the ending of the Cold War and
the collapse of Communism, it was
decided to change the remit of Families for Defence from a campaigning
wing to a defence and foreign affairs policy group, Defence and
Security Forum.
Issues
that Defence and Security
Forum have undertaken have included
supporting the Kuwaiti people during the Gulf War, when DSF linked up
with the Free Kuwait Campaign in London. After the liberation, DSF has
lent active support to the National Committee for the Kuwaiti Prisoners
of War held in Iraq. Olga Maitland was invited by the chairman H.H.
Sheikh Salem al Sabah to visit Kuwait and meet the families of the
POWs. She then she had arranged a number of high profile events drawing
attention to their detention in Iraq by Saddam Hussein.
In
2001 Olga Maitland visited
Northern Iraq/ Kurdistan as a guest of
the President Masoud Barzani. She met with the survivors of chemical
weapons attacks by Saddam Hussein in 1988, all of whom continue to have
serious health problems. She was also made aware of the importance the
Kurds attach to the Safe Haven status which the then Prime Minister
John Major put into place with the former President George Bush, Senior
in 1991.
Olga
Maitland has been a journalist
since 1964. She began her career
reporting crime and hard news with the Fleet Street News Agency. In
1965 she joined the Sunday Express as a reporter becoming a leading
columnist from 1975 to 1991. She freelanced until 1998 when she joined
the Daily Mail until 2001.
In
1986 Olga Maitland began her
political career as a Conservative
candidate for Holborn and St. Pancras in the ILEA elections. In 1987
she stood as Parliamentary Candidate for Bethnal Green and Stepney. In
1997 she was elected Member of Parliament for Sutton and Cheam with a
majority of 10,750. She was defeated in 1997 by 2,000 and stood again
for the seat in 2001, but was defeated.
During
her Parliamentary career
Olga Maitland was a member of
education, health and the procedures select committees. She took
through Parliament two Private Members Bills, the Prisoners Return to
Custody Act 1995, and the Offensive Weapons Act 1996. She introduced
two Ten Minute Rule Bills on Juvenile Crime, 1993 and Solvent Abuse,
1994.
She
was an officer of the Northern
Ireland, Defence and Foreign Affairs
backbench committees.
In 1996 Olga Maitland was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary
to Rt. Hon. Sir John Wheeler, PC, MP, Minister of State, and Deputy
Secretary of State, Northern Ireland with special responsibilities for
security.
Lady
Olga Maitland is currently an
adviser to a number of companies and
governments.
Olga Maitland published in 1989 'Margaret Thatcher - The First Ten
Years' 1997 'Faith In the Family.' She was founder and
chairman of Families for Defence until 1991. Since then she
has been the President of Defence and Security Forum.
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