Leslie Griffiths retired from the active ministry of the Methodist Church in 2017 and began a stint as a front bench spokesperson for the Labour Party in the House of Lords. After serving for three years in this role, he was elected to be part of the delegation from the British parliament to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

 

This has been the culmination of a long and varied working life that began in destitution in a South Wales post-industrial town and led to a succession of important positions both within and beyond the Church. At one time he preached from the pulpit John Wesley had once occupied whilst having a Canon’s stall in St Paul’s Cathedral and a seat in the House of Lords. “A royal flush,” is how he described that combination of roles.

 

After a short career teaching Medieval English in the University of Wales, he became a Lay Preacher in the Methodist Church of Great Britain before taking a Master's degree in Theology at Cambridge University while training for the ministry. He spent most of the 1970s serving the Methodist Church in Haiti. Two of his children were born there and that’s where he was ordained. He travels there regularly and is a leading campaigner for Haiti in the political as well as the not-for-profit sectors. He has written a biography of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the Roman Catholic priest and Liberation Theologian who became Haiti's President. He was awarded a Ph.D. from the School of Oriental and African Studies in the University of London for his work on Haiti.

 

He has served in a number of appointments in or around London ending with a 21-year stint at Wesley's Chapel and the Museum of Methodism. He was President of the British Methodist Conference 1994-1995. In 2004, at the nomination of Prime Minister Tony Blair, he became a working peer in the House of Lords. His front bench duties were carried out as the Labour Party’s spokesperson for the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport department and as Shadow Minister for Wales. On stepping down from those roles, he began his work with the Council of Europe.

 

Leslie Griffiths has written 8 books; he has had a long broadcasting career with the BBC; he is an emeritus canon of St Paul's Cathedral. He was national President of the Boys’ Brigade until 2020. He chairs the Board of Directors of the Central Foundation Schools of London which oversees two very successful schools in inner London boroughs. He has received number of honours – honorary doctorates, college fellowships, and various other awards.

 

He is married to Margaret, a hospital radiotherapist until her retirement; they have three married children and two grandchildren.