Lord Christopher, a distinguished trade unionist and parliamentarian whose career spanned much of the post-World War II era, has died at the age of 101. Believed to be the last surviving UK parliamentarian to have served during the Second World War, Christopher was also noted for his longstanding leadership within the Inland Revenue Staff Federation (IRSF) and his tenure as president of the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

Born Anthony Martin Grosvenor Christopher on April 25, 1925, he left Cheltenham Grammar School at 16 and initially worked in agricultural valuation before joining the Royal Air Force in 1944. After demobilisation in 1948, he began a career with the Inland Revenue, later becoming a full-time union official in 1957. He rose to assistant general secretary in 1960 and took over as general secretary of the IRSF in 1976, a position he held for more than two decades.

Christopher was known for vigorously advocating better conditions for Inland Revenue staff and was a consistent critic of government policies that he felt undermined the effectiveness of tax collection. He highlighted problems such as understaffing, excessive overtime demands, and widespread tax evasion, particularly among the self-employed. Despite his tough stance on tax compliance, he also supported measures aimed at retaining high-earning entertainers in the country through tax relief initiatives.

During his union career, Christopher was involved in notable industrial actions, including a lengthy 21-week strike by Inland Revenue computer operators in 1981. He often encouraged a pragmatic approach to industrial disputes and was relatively cautious about confrontations with government, especially during Margaret Thatcher’s administration. Yet, he was outspoken in condemning the poverty that emerged in communities affected by the miners’ strike and was an early critic of the social consequences of prolonged industrial action.

Christopher’s influence extended beyond the union movement into broader social causes. He dedicated more than 40 years to prisoner rehabilitation work, serving as chairman of the Royal London Discharged Prisoners’ Aid Society and subsequently its successor organisation, Nacro. He was a vocal opponent of punitive approaches to crime, advocating instead for stronger focus on crime prevention, education, and community reintegration. He frequently challenged government cuts to aftercare funding and resisted proposals that would have transferred probation responsibilities to Nacro.

Within the wider labour movement, Christopher served on the TUC General Council from 1976, becoming president in 1988. His presidency was marked by efforts to foster unity among unions and to encourage a strategic reassessment of relations with the Conservative government. He also engaged in international concerns, urging cooperation to address trade barriers with the Soviet Union and condemning apartheid-era policies in South Africa.

Christopher was also active in a number of public policy roles, including membership on the Tax Reform Committee, the Royal Commission on the Distribution of Income and Wealth, and advisory bodies on probation and alcohol recovery. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1984 and was elevated to the House of Lords with a life peerage in 1998.

He remained engaged in parliamentary affairs well into his nineties, at times commenting on the challenges facing political leadership and the public’s perception of parliamentarians. Christopher was married to Adela Thompson for 62 years until her death in 2024. The couple had no children.