Robert Henderson

Who is Robert Henderson?

Robert Henderson is a British writer who has caused public controversy with his views on racial issues and his letters to the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Henderson spent his early childhood in Cheshire before moving to Hertfordshire, where he was educated at St Albans School, later graduating from Keele University. Since then he has lived in Central London. Before retiring due to ill health he worked for the Inland Revenue, while also retaining a strong personal interest in cricket. In 1995 he became the subject of attention from the British media after Wisden Cricket Monthly published his essay "Is It In The Blood?", which used language such as "negro" and implied that foreign-born players would be less committed to the team. A legal action taken against Wisden by black England cricketers Devon Malcolm and Philip DeFreitas was settled out of court.

Henderson claimed media bias against him together with censorship of his views and wrote a number of letters to his constituency Labour MP, Frank Dobson, and later to Tony Blair and also to Blair's wife Cherie. In March 1997 Blair is said to have contacted the police asking for a means to stop this "pestering"; on 25 March 1997, a story accusing Henderson explicitly of "pestering" the Blairs appeared on the front page of the Daily Mirror. Henderson has frequently claimed that Special Branch and the security services have, on Blair's instructions, interfered with his mail and tapped his telephone.