Sir Norman Fowler gave Home Secretary Jack Straw a roasting in the House of Commons this week for trying to stop the Daily Telegraph leaking the Lawrence Inquiry report. He himself is been a long-standing member of the National Union of Journalists and is chairman of newspaper company, Midland Independent Newspapers. He was a journalist before entering politics, joining The Times in 1961. He was a Special Correspondent from 1962-66 and Home Affairs Correspondent from 1966-70. The veteran Tory made a surprise political comeback in William Hague's shadow cabinet. He was expected to resign from the front bench after the first year of Conservative opposition, but in June was promoted to Shadow Home Secretary. MP for Sutton Coldfield, in the West Midlands, Norman Fowler has had a long career in politics, in opposition and in government. He was one of the early privatisers in Margaret Thatcher's government, reformed pensions and began a massive publicity campaign about the dangers of Aids. From 1970-74 he sat on a paliamentary select committee on Race Relations and Immigration. Norman Fowler was John Major's on the road campaign manager in the surprise 1992 election win. He then became Conservative party chairman for two years. He was once an adviser to security firm Group 4 but was embarrassed over the escape of prisoners in its care.