John Smyth (barrister)
| John Jackson Smyth QC | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 June 1941 |
| Residence | Cape Town, South Africa |
| Alma mater | Trinity Hall, Cambridge |
| Spouse(s) | Josephine Anne Leggott |
| Children | 4 |
John Jackson Smyth QC (born 27 June 1941) is a British barrister who is alleged to have carried out "sadomasochistic physical abuse" on young men in the 1970s and '80s.
Educated at Strathcona School, Calgary; Trinity Hall, Cambridge; Trinity College, Bristol and Regent College, Vancouver; he was called to the Bar at Inner Temple in 1965 and took silk in 1979. He was a recorder from 1978 to 1984.
In July 1977, Smyth acted for Christian morality campaigner Mary Whitehouse in her successful private prosecution for blasphemy (Whitehouse v Lemon) at the Old Bailey against the newspaper Gay News and its editor, Denis Lemon, over the publication of James Kirkup's poem The Love that Dares to Speak its Name. He also initially acted for Whitehouse in her failed prosecution of the National Theatre production of Howard Brenton's play The Romans in Britain in 1980 but withdrew from the case through illness.
He was chairman of the Iwerne Trust between 1974 and 1981. The Iwerne Trust was a fund raising body for evangelical Christian holiday camps that had been founded by Eric "Bash" Nash for public school pupils, at the time run by Scripture Union, and on which Smyth was a leader.
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