Obituary to Anthony Simpson - former South Leicestershire MEP who had a love for politics and languages

Obituary for Anthony Simpson

Member of the European Parliament, linguist and traveller

Anthony Maurice Herbert Simpson, TD (‘Andy’) died on August 14, 2022, aged 86.

Anthony served as Member of the European Parliament for Northamptonshire (later extended to incorporate South Leicestershire) from 1979 to 1994. For a decade during his term as an MEP, he served as one of the five Quaestors, appointed as a member of the Governing Bureau to oversee administrative and financial matters for all his colleagues.

Anthony was born in Leicester on October 28, 1935 to Maurice Simpson and Renée Laffitte.

Maurice was the son of Herbert Simpson, who was Mayor of Leicester in 1924-25. Renée was the daughter of Justine Laffitte who brought her up single-handedly and Jacques Dormoy of Bordeaux, who was a member of the French National Assembly, but was not mentioned on the birth certificate.

Anthony read History and Law at Magdalene College, Cambridge after attending Rugby School.

Unlike his father and two older brothers, he did not join the family law firm, Herbert Simpson, Son and Bennett, but was called to the Bar – Inner Temple – in 1961. Even though he practised as a barrister until 1975, his real loves were politics and languages, of which he spoke several - his French roots made him an enthusiastic European.

Anthony was selected by the Conservative Party for the safe Labour parliamentary seat of West Leicester in 1974 but failed to win it in both general elections held that year. He had already been translating French and German law reports into English since 1962 and he joined the Legal Service of the European Commission in Brussels the following year. When the European Parliament first held direct elections in 1979, he was an obvious choice.

After his time as an MEP, Anthony returned to the European Commission where he set up the DAPHNE programme to help combat violence against women and children. Following his retirement in 2000 he served his former colleagues in various capacities. He was also the Treasurer of the European Foundation for Street Children. He moved to London but maintained his Leicester roots by being a Governor of De Montfort University from 2004 to 2008.

Between 1959 and 1975, Anthony served in the Territorial Army with the 21st Regiment of the SAS (The Artist Rifles) and later became a Major of the 23rd Regiment.

Anthony married Penelope Spackman in 1961 and had three children: Victoria, Sarah and Edward. He had eight grandchildren and was deeply devoted to his whole family, as they were to him. He was genuinely interested in the lives of his grandchildren; he loved young people, was curious and open-minded. He and Penelope loved to travel; they had recently returned from Helsinki. A great pleasure was taking each of their grandchildren individually on holiday.

Anthony and Penelope were very moved when in September 2021 their children arranged a re-enactment of their wedding day at St Mary’s Lydiard Tregoze, near Swindon, to mark their 60th anniversary. This was later followed by a party at the Cavalry and Guards Club, where friends and family celebrated their long and loving partnership.

Anthony had the role of the family genealogist and was very interested in his forebears. He visited as many relevant places as he could, including tiny ancestral villages in France, where he met distant relations. He was very fortunate to be able to live his life fully until the end - continuing to walk and engage with friends and family on the issues of the day.