Ernest Parke

Ernest Parke (26 February 1860 – 21 June 1944) was a political writer, editor, newspaper proprietor and local politician. In 1890, as the editor of The North London Press, he was imprisoned for libel for his reporting of the Cleveland Street scandal.

Early life and career He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1860, the youngest of four sons of Anne née Hall (1824–1902) and Fenning Plowman Parke (1826–1902), an Excise Officer. Their sons were Fenning Matthew Parke (1885–1928) and Hall Parke (1905–1985). He soon impressed O'Connor with his 'keenness, tremendous flair for news, and the capacity to work twenty four hours a day if necessary'. Later in 1888 he was appointed deputy editor of The Star. In the 31 August 1888 edition he suggested that Jack the Ripper, who had just murdered Mary Ann Nichols, was a single killer. He was editor from 1891 to 1918. At the same time he edited The Morning Leader, running the newspapers in parallel, and working "harder than any editor had done before or has done since". On 16 November 1889 he published a further piece which named Henry James FitzRoy, Earl of Euston, in "an indescribably loathsome scandal in Cleveland Street". Parke also alleged that Euston may have fled to Peru to avoid prosecution and that he had been permitted to escape by the authorities to conceal the involvement of a more highly placed personage; although this person was not named some believe that it was Prince Albert Victor, son of the Prince of Wales and grandson of Queen Victoria.

Trial for libel Ernest Parke during his trial. Leicester Mercury, 16 January 1890 Euston had not fled to Peru but was actually still in England when the article was brought to his attention and at once he filed a case against Parke for libel. Magistrate Sir James Vaughan issued a warrant for Parke's arrest on November 23, 1889 after Bow Street Magistrates' Court successfully proved the report against Euston to be libellous. Parke promptly turned himself into police custody. He had known for a week that he was likely be arrested and argued in his defence that he intentionally stayed in the country to accept the possibility of being charged with libel. Parke spent the entire weekend in jail and awaited trial for Monday morning. He meanwhile formed his defense team, consisting of Frank Lockwood, QC, and H. H. Asquith, who would later become Prime Minister during World War I. The hearing at Bow Street Magistrates' Court began on the morning of 25 November 1889. Vaughan set the bail at two securities of £50 each, which Parke posted.

Parke was widely regarded by his fellow journalists as the hero of the hour, victimised for telling the truth. With his 'pale, earnest, and intellectual face', The Illustrated Police News described him as looking 'more like a hard-working student than the defendant in a newspaper libel case', whilst also noting his popularity with the 'newspaper men, among whom he seems to enjoy warm popularity and substantial esteem'.

At the subsequent trial before judge Sir Henry Hawkins, for which Parke was remanded in custody despite having offered four sureties of £500 each, The last witness for the defence was John Saul, a male prostitute who previously had been involved in another homosexual scandal, this time at Dublin Castle. He also featured in a clandestinely published erotic novel The Sins of the Cities of the Plain, which claimed to be his autobiography. Delivering his testimony in a manner described as "brazen effrontery", Saul admitted to earning his living by leading an "immoral life" and "practising criminality", and detailed his alleged sexual encounters with Euston at the house. On 16 January 1890, the jury found Parke guilty of 'Maliciously publishing a false and defamatory libel' and the judge sentenced him to twelve months without hard labour in Millbank Prison.

Later years

Following representations by other journalists on his behalf to the Home Secretary Henry Matthews he was editor from 1891 to 1918, when he resigned. Having retired from his editorial roles Parke increased his numerous business commitments. He sat on the boards of national and local newspaper companies, including The Daily News and The Star, the Northern Newspaper Company, and the Sheffield Independent Press. In 1904 he was a founding member of the Newspaper Proprietors' Association. He died on 21 June 1944 at Warneford Hospital in Leamington Spa as the result of a fall at his home. He was cremated and his ashes were buried in the grave of his wife at the parish church of St Peter and St Paul in Butlers Marston.