Roy Hattersley's Will Honors Dog Charity with £25,000 Legacy

Former Labour deputy leader Roy Hattersley, who passed away at 93 in June, has left £25,000 to the Dogs Trust in his will. The bequest to the animal welfare charity is a nod to his famous mongrel, Buster, who once killed one of the Queen's geese in St. James's Park.

Hattersley's estate was valued at £586,018. His will, signed in June 2024, also allocates an additional £25,000 to charities that support the hungry. The majority of his fortune, £431,018, will go to his second wife, Maggie, who also inherits his literary estate. He also made bequests totaling £105,000 to four friends.

The incident involving Buster occurred in April 1996, leading to Hattersley being fined £75 for allowing his dog off the lead in a Royal Park. He later chronicled the event in his book "Buster's Diaries," written from the dog's perspective and framing the goose incident as an act of self-defense.

Born in Sheffield in 1932, Roy Hattersley served as a Member of Parliament for Birmingham Sparkbrook from 1964 to 1997. He held various ministerial positions during Harold Wilson's premiership, including employment minister and deputy defence minister in the 1960s, and minister of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs from 1974 to 1976. He was appointed a privy councillor in 1977 and served as secretary for prices and consumer protection in James Callaghan's cabinet from 1976 to 1979.

After losing the 1983 leadership contest to Neil Kinnock, Hattersley became deputy leader, a role he held for nine years. During this period, he was instrumental in reshaping the Labour Party, moving it away from unilateral nuclear disarmament and anti-European stances, and addressing internal party challenges.

Known also as Labour's 'nearly man' and famously parodied by "Spitting Image," Hattersley retired from the House of Lords in 2017. Tributes following his death highlighted his significant contributions to the Labour movement and his unwavering belief in a more equal Britain. Sir Keir Starmer described him as a "giant of the Labour movement," while Lord Kinnock remembered him as a "socialist of deep conviction" and a "dedicated democrat."

Hattersley was married twice. His first marriage to Molly ended in divorce in 2013, and he married Maggie Pearlstine later that same year.