Leo Amery, Indian-English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1955)
Leopold Charles Maurice Stennett Amery, (22 November 1873 – 16 September 1955), also known L. S. Amery, was a British Conservative journalist, politician, and member of numerous Cabinets. During his career, he was noted for his interest in military preparedness, British India and the British Empire and for his opposition to appeasement. After his retirement and death, he was perhaps best known for the remarks he made to his colleagues in the House of Commons on 7 May 1940 during the Norway Debate.
In these remarks, Amery pitilessly attacked the Prime Minister, his old acquaintance Neville Chamberlain, for incompetence in the fight against Hitler’s Germany. Many of Amery’s Parliamentary contemporaries pointed to this speech as one of the key drivers in the division of the House on the following day, 8 May, which led to Chamberlain being forced out of office and his replacement by Winston Churchill.