Operation Captura - The Hunt For Ten Of Britain’s Most Wanted Criminals
As Crimestoppers campaign Operation Captura celebrates its fifth anniversary, Lord Ashcroft looks back at the charity he founded.
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Michael Ashcroft
Michael Ashcroft is a member of the House of Lords, a businessman and philanthropist.
Latest posts
The Importance Of Anglia Ruskin University
From Kylie Minogue to a new £35m complex; Lord Ashcroft explains why these are such exciting times at his university.
Read moreHow Are the Party Leaders Doing?
Lord Ashcroft assesses the public perception of the three party leaders as the conference season gets underway.
Read moreRecent posts
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Why We Should Honour Our Bomb Disposal Heroes
- Sep 11, 2011
Michael Ashcroft tells why he is supporting a new appeal which will help army bomb disposal experts as they readjust to life in the UK after serving in Afghanistan.
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For Valour’s Sake, These Heroes Must Not Go Unsung
- Aug 21, 2011
Michael Ashcroft backs a call to award Victoria Crosses to two SAS soldiers killed in a secret war fought in Oman in the 1970s.
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Why Women Make Brilliant Secret Agents
- Aug 14, 2011
Lord Ashcroft pays tribute to Nancy Wake and explains why women make such brilliant secret operatives.
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Hunting Down the UK's 10 Most Wanted Fraudsters
- Aug 2, 2011
Lord Ashcroft outlines the latest Crimestoppers initiative which is targeted at identifying Britain's most dangerous fraudsters.
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Farewell Charles Walker GC
- Jul 26, 2011
Lord Ashcroft bids farewell to Charles Walker, a true naval hero.
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Tom Baldwin Has Some Explaining To Do
- Jul 13, 2011
Michael Ashcroft explains why the disclosures of how Gordon Brown was targeted have saddened but not surprised him. He thinks Ed Miliband's PR man has questions to answer.
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Will Tom Baldwin Examine His Conscience?
- Jul 8, 2011
Michael Ashcroft says Ed Miliband needs to take a close look at his own private office before he criticises others.
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About Michael Ashcroft
After over forty years as an entrepreneur working in both the UK and the US I am an active investor in new companies and ideas.
I support a wide range of charities, notably crime prevention and education. I am the Founder and Chairman of Crimestoppers, Chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University and the Chairman of Trustees of the Ashcroft Technology Academy, in south London. I am also a Trustee of the Cleveland Clinic in the US.
In 2000, I was knighted and became a Member of the House of Lords (Lord Ashcroft of Chichester, KCMG).
In May 2011 I was appointed as lead advisor on a government review of military bases on Cyprus.
Between December 2005 and September 2010 I was Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, with special responsibility for the target seats campaign and opinion research. I am Treasurer of the International Democrat Union.
Over the past two decades I have gathered over 160 Victoria Cross medals, the largest collection in the World. I am passionate in my belief that our country owes an enormous debt of gratitude to these heroes of courage. In November 2010 this collection was put on public display for the first time at the Imperial War Museum London in a purpose built gallery. The new Lord Ashcroft Gallery also exhibits VCs and George Crosses already belonging to the Imperial War Museum.
In 2009 I was made Vice-Patron of the Intelligence Corps Museum in Bedfordshire and in 2010 I became a Trustee of the Imperial War Museum Foundation.
I have written five books. The latest, Minority Verdict, gives my view of the Conservative Party’s 2010 election campaign. It follows on from Smell The Coffee, my study of public opinion in the run-up to the 2005 election, in which I called for the Conservatives to change in order to return to government. Dirty politics Dirty times, updated in 2009, is a biographical account of my successful battles against the Times newspaper and New Labour, and their ultimately unsuccessful account of their attempts to discredit me and destabilise the Conservative Party. My three books on gallantry – Victoria Cross Heroes, Special Forces Heroes and George Cross Heroes – tell of my lifelong interest in valour and reveal the extraordinary stories behind the medals in my collection.