Gilbert Beyfus
Gilbert Hugh Beyfus (1885–1960) was an English barrister whose clients included Liberace, John Aspinall and Aneurin Bevan.
[3] His great-grandfather, Gotz Philip Beyfus, who came to Britain from Germany in the early part of the 19th century, was a professor of languages, taught in the Western Synagogue and was the secretary of the Jews’ Free School.
Many of his uncles had wide-ranging business interests and these included directors of theatres, department stores, fruit importers, a solicitor, diamond dealers and money lenders.
After the war he tried again to win a seat and was selected as a National Liberal candidate for Kingswinford where he was beaten in the 1922 election by the Labour incumbent MP Charles Henry Sitch.
[6] At the start of the First World War Befus volunteered to join the army and was appointed on 15 August 1914 as Second Lieutenant to the 3rd Battalion, West Riding Regiment.
However, he was not always successful and in 1931 lost a case that involved his client attempting to set up a business selling tickets for Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake in Britain.
Aspinall had been operating casinos where the principal game was Chemin de Fer, moving locations to avoid the attention of the police.
After listening to Beyfus's legal argument the judge told the jury that in his opinion there was no evidence of unlawful gaming and consequently the case was dismissed.
The owner, Arnold de la Poer, alleged that threats and misrepresentation had been used to force him to sell his shares to the American Chrysler motor corporation.
In 1957 three members of the Labour Party, Aneurin Bevan, Richard Crossman and Morgan Phillips sued The Spectator for publishing an article by Jenny Nicholson indicating that they were drinking to excess during a convention in Italy.
[21] In 1959 the entertainer Liberace sued the Daily Mirror for publishing an article written by William Connor (Cassandra) that appeared to impute that he was homosexual.
Beyfus represented Liberace, but by this time he was 74 years old, suffering from ill health, and his appearance did not inspire confidence in his client.
His final case was one of slander and libel involving the Duchess of Argyll and her dispute with a former social secretary, Yvonne Macpherson, who was Beyfus's client.
