Harcourt Johnstone minister) and Anthony Eden amongst prominent government mourners. Harcourt Johnstone Harcourt Johnstone (19 May 1895 – 1 March 1945), nicknamed Crinks, was a British Liberal Party politician. Johnstone was born in London in 1895, the son of the Hon. Sir Alan Johnstone, a British diplomat, and his American wife Antoinette Pinchot. His nickname 'Crinks' is alleged to have derived from the wrinkled face he had as a baby. One of his ancestors was Sir William Vernon Harcourt (1827–1904) who was Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer under William Ewart Gladstone. His paternal grandfather was the first Baron Derwent. Harcourt
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, or informally Communities Secretary is a Cabinet position heading the UK's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, previously known as the Department for Communities and Local Government from 2006 to 2018. This department was created in 2006 by then British prime minister Tony Blair to replace the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The Secretary of State took over the responsibilities of the Minister of State for Communities and Local Government. This post, within the Office of the Deputy Prime