Wigoder, Basil Thomas, Baron

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WIGODER, BASIL THOMAS, BARON

WIGODER, BASIL THOMAS, BARON (1921–2004), British lawyer. Wigoder was born in Manchester, son of Philip i. Wigoder, a prominent local Zionist, and educated at Manchester Grammar School and Oxford. At Oxford he was president of the Union. After his military service in World War ii, he joined the Liberal Party and unsuccessfully contested a number of elections. From 1963 to 1965 he was chairman of the Liberal Party executive and in 1965–66 of the Liberal Party Organizing Committee. He ceased much of his political activity in the mid-1960s and concentrated on his legal work, acquiring recognition through his appearances in leading criminal cases. In 1966 he was made a Queen's Counsel and in 1971 a Recorder of the Crown Court. In 1974 he was created a life peer, and served as Liberal Whip in the House of Lords.