Political career Devlin was first elected the
member of parliament (MP) for the
Stockton South constituency in the
1987 general election, when he defeated
Ian Wrigglesworth. From 1992 to 1994, he was
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the
Attorney-General. Devlin was unseated in the
1997 general election, losing to
Labour's
Dari Taylor. He tried to regain the seat in
2001, but was beaten by Taylor again. Tim Devlin, while a Tory MP, helped arrange a meeting on 28 January 1993 in which Customs was ordered to drop drug-smuggling charges against Middlesbrough drug trafficker
Brian Charrington. The case was dropped when it emerged that Charrington was a paid
informant for
HM Customs officers. All the accused, including Charrington and
Curtis Warren, were acquitted of all charges.
Legal career Devlin was
called to the bar in 1985, thereby qualifying as a
barrister. He is currently a member of Furnival Chambers. == References ==