Peter Hayman

Sir Peter Hayman was a British diplomat. He was British high commissioner in Canada from 1970-74. Previously he was director general of British Information Services in New York 1961-64 and deputy commandant of the British military government in West Berlin 1964-66.

Named under parliamentary privilege

Hayman was named by the right wing Conservative MP Geoffrey Dickens. According to UPI 'The diplomat was referred to as a senior civil servant in the court case last week in which O'Carroll, 35, chairman of the Pedophile Information Exchange, was jailed for two years for conspiring to corrupt public morals. Two other members of the group were acquitted.'

UPI reported:

Conservative Geoffrey Dickens, rejecting a government request not to name Hayman, 66, said he acted because he believed there was an Establishment coverup under way. Dickens took the step by submitting two written parliamentary questions to the government. Printing the questions in the House of Commons list of future proceedings allowed publication of the name without fear of prosecution for libel. The first question asked Attorney General Sir Michael Havers 'if he will prosecute Sir Peter Hayman under the Post Office Acts for sending and receiving pornographic material through the Royal Mail.' The second question asked Francis Pym, leader of the House of Commons, if he will set up a committee to 'investigate the security implications of the entries contained within volumes of Sir Peter Hayman's diaries, referred to in the trial of Tom O'Carroll at the Old Bailey.'

A further UPI reported noted:

Hayman's alleged involvement was mentioned in police testimony during the trial. But he was referred to only as Henderson, a name under which he had rented a small apartment in London. Police said he accidentally left pornographic material in a London bus. This led police to the apartment where they said diaries recording sexual fantasies and quantities of pornographic material were found. Havers said he tried to dissuade Dickens from naming Hayman, who served as British high commissioner in Canada from 1970-1974. Hayman also served as director general of British Information Services in New York from 1961-1964 and held high posts in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Havers said Hayman, who is married and has a son and a daughter, was not prosecuted because security questions were never involved. 'Absolutely nothing has been achieved by naming a man who has been retired for seven years, Havers said. All Mr. Dickens has done is to make certain Sir Peter's shame and embarrassment are known to the world.'

According to the Associated Press:

The London Guardian reported that in recent days, Hayman had resigned as a governor of International Students' House, an organization for overseas students, and as a director of a company named Delta Overseas. Educated at Oxford University, Hayman was described by colleagues as a cheerful man. He lives in the Oxfordshire village of Checkendon where he and his wife take an active part in local affairs. Their spacious home, complete with tennis court, is called Uxmore House. In 1979 Sir Peter reached the semifinals of the British TV quiz program Mastermind, specializing in Napoleon and King George V.