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Alan Keen
Alan Keen
Member of Parliament; for Feltham and Heston
	In office; 9 April 1992 – 10 November 2011
Preceded by	Patrick Ground
Succeeded by	Seema Malhotra
Personal details
Born	David Alan Keen; 25 November 1937; Lewisham, London, England
Died	10 November 2011 (aged 73); Lambeth, London, England
Political party	Labour and Co-operative
Spouse	Ann Lloyd-Fox (m. 1980)
Children	3
Relatives	Sylvia Heal (sister-in-law)
Profession	Fire protection
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army
Years of service	1960–1963

David Alan Keen (25 November 1937 – 10 November 2011)^[1] was a British Labour Co-operative politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Feltham and Heston from 1992 until his death in 2011.

Early life

Although born in London, Alan Keen was brought up in the Grangetown and Redcar area in the present day unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland in the north-east of England. He went to the Sir William Turner's Grammar School in Redcar.^[2] He joined the British Army in 1960 and after nearly three years of service, in 1963, he started his career with the Fire Protection Industry where he remained until his election to the House of Commons.^[3] He also worked as a tactical scout for Middlesbrough F.C. for eighteen years.^[4]

Parliamentary career

He served as a member of Hounslow Borough Council from 1986 to 1990 and was elected to Parliament at the 1992 general election when he unseated the sitting Conservative MP Patrick Ground.^[5] In Parliament he served on both the Education (1995–1996) and the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committees (1997–1999 and from 2001).^[6]

Policies

Heathrow Airport expansion

On 28 January 2009, Keen voted against a motion in Parliament calling on the government to review a decision to add a third runway to Heathrow Airport.^[7] Keen had claimed to be opposed to expansion at Heathrow for many years;^[8] stating in his consultation publication on the issue he is "opposed to an additional runway" and although he was in favour of expansion up to the present boundaries "there has to be a limit" and he believed "that limit has been reached".^[9] However at a House of Commons debate in January 2009, Keen voted in favour of the third runway.^[8] Conservative Councillor Barbara Reid of Hounslow Council, said the Keens were "completely ignoring their constituents and letting them down.", noting that "90 per cent of people in every survey we have done do not support the third runway".^[8] Further controversy arose when Keen suggested the third runway would "hardly affect my constituents at all".^[8]

Expenses

Together with his MP wife Ann Keen, the couple used their combined second homes allowances to buy an apartment on the South Bank of the River Thames.

In defending their part in the expenses scandal the Keen's stated "we have advocated, strongly supported, and voted for the introduction of Freedom of Information legislation. We are pleased that the point has been reached when full details of MPs' expenses are being published on a regular basis for everyone to see".

A formal investigation into the Keen’s expenses by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards ruled in March that the Keens had breached the expenses rules and that he regarded the breach of the rules as "serious", and involving "significant public funds". He suggested that the Keens should pay back four months worth of their claims - some £5,678. However, The Commons Standards and Privileges Committee of MPs disagreed with his findings and reduced the repayment to £1,500.^[10]

Personal life

Keen's wife Ann Keen, whom he married in 1980, joined him in the Commons at the 1997 general election when she was elected for the neighbouring seat of Brentford and Isleworth.^[11] Ann held the seat until she was defeated in the 2010 general election.^[12] His sister-in-law, Sylvia Heal was an MP from 1997 to 2010 and Deputy Speakers of the House of Commons before retiring at the 2010 election.

Keen employed son David for at least 8 years as his constituency manager and senior caseworker.^[13] David and his daughter were from a previous marriage. He also had a stepson. ^[3] He died in Lambeth,^[14] London, on 10 November 2011 from cancer, aged 73.^[1]^[15]