abstract:Michael John Smith was born on 22 September 1948. He was charged in the UK with four offences under sections 1(1)(b) and (c) the Official Secrets Act 1911 in 1992 and convicted on the three of charges under section 1(1)(c).
Despite suffering his first heart attack in 1988, a leaner JohnSmith prevailed and, after the failed attempts by Michael Foot and Neil Kinnock to overthrow Margaret Thatcher and then John Major, he was elected to party leadership in 1992.