PAUL HOWELLPaul Howell, who died in a plane crash in Mozambique on 20 September, 2008, was a colourful former Member of European Parliament with a reputation for adventure.The 57-year-old Tory represented Norfolk in Strasbourg and Brussels between 1979 and 1994. After retiring from politics he ran a farm in Norfolk and was in Mozambique searching for new business opportunities at the time of the crash.He and five other people were killed when the private jet went down near the international airport at Beira, the country's second largest city. It is thought the aircraft ran out of fuel. Authorities were not certain who was flying the plane at the time.Mr Howell was himself a trained pilot who was in the air before passing his driving test. He studied agriculture and economics at Oxford before becoming an administrator for the Conservative Party, spending time in Margaret Thatcher's private office. He was the son of former North Norfolk MP Sir Ralph Howell.When he was elected to the European Parliament in 1979, he was its youngest member at 28. During his three five-year terms he was noted for his campaigns against animal cruelty and expensive junkets for European politicians. He was also the first MEP to visit Chernobyl after the nuclear disaster of 1992.His passion for politics gained notoriety in the mid 1980s when on two occasions he was involved in scuffles with socialist demonstrators trying to put banners up inside parliamentary buildings. "He was known to resolve a dispute with his fists. When he got given a task, he was like a Jack Russell. He would not let go until the job was done," said his friend Chris Gurney.He unsuccessfully ran for re-election in 1999 and moved to the Liberal Democrats in 2001 after one of his many disagreements with the Tory party leadership.In his spare time he was a frequent flyer - in 1981 he and Mr Gurney escaped with serious injuries from another plane crash in Norfolk when a Tiger Moth biplane went down near an airfield. Mr Gurney was left semi-paralysed while Mr Howell's vocal chords were damaged leaving with him with a husky voice.Henry Bellingham, MP for North West Norfolk, said his death was "a grave loss for Norfolk. Paul was an outstanding MEP and Norfolk's champion in Europe. He was Mr Norfolk in Brussels and Mr Brussels in Norfolk."His friend Paul Whittome paid tribute to him, saying: "He was a completely larger-than-life character and very controversial ... Everything that went with Paul was an adventure. We got arrested scuba diving by a naval frigate once."Mr Whittome and Martin Buckingham recently shared best man duties at Mr Howell's wedding to second wife Ayesha. Mr Buckingham said: "He was a very special person and a very dear friend. He had an astonishing sense of adventure and fun. He was astonishingly intelligent, his knowledge and intellect were extraordinary. He was just an inspiration and totally devoted to his three children."Mr Howell was survived by his wife, their one-year-old son Zack (who were in Mozambique but not on board the plane), and two sons from his first marriage, William and Oliver.
Keep me informed of updates
