Ben Greene (28 December 1901 – October 1978) was a British politician and pacifist who became notable for his internment during the Second World War and his involvement in the landmark legal case Liversidge v Anderson.
Early life and education
Greene was born in Brazil to a mother of German nationality. In 1908 his family relocated to England, where he attended Berkhamsted School alongside his cousins, the writer Graham Greene and journalist Hugh Greene. He later matriculated at Wadham College, Oxford, but left without completing a degree, having become committed to the Labour Party and the Quaker movement.
Humanitarian and early political activity
Until 1923 Greene worked for the Society of Friends, Save the Children Fund and the American Relief Administration, carrying out humanitarian missions in Eastern Europe. His pacifist convictions motivated his entry into politics. In the 1923 general election he assisted Clement Attlee’s campaign in Limehouse, where he met future collaborator John Beckett. He joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP) in 1924 and acted as a liaison with Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald. Greene stood as a Labour candidate in Basingstoke (1924) and later contested Gravesend (1931, 1935) without success. He served on Berkhamsted Urban District Council, Hertfordshire County Council, and was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1937.
Shift in political alignment
By the late 1930s Greene grew disillusioned with the Labour Party, which he perceived as increasingly dominated by communist elements. He began to advocate for cooperation with Nazi officials to facilitate the emigration of persecuted Germans, a stance that led him to associate with the British People’s Party (BPP), a right‑wing organization, becoming its treasurer. He also founded the Peace and Progress Information Service, publishing material supplied by the German diplomat Ernst Wilhelm Bohle, and briefly joined the Peace Pledge Union.
Internment and legal challenge
In May 1940, under Defence Regulation 18B, Greene was detained on the grounds of “hostile associations” with fascist groups and alleged communications with the German government. His detention was reviewed by the Advisory Committee, which upheld the order despite the absence of MI5 agents at the hearing. Greene appealed, first to the Divisional Court (habeas corpus) and then to the Court of Appeal, both of which affirmed the Home Secretary’s discretion.
Greene’s case was subsequently combined with that of fellow internee Robert Liversidge before the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords in Liversidge v Anderson (1942). The Lords upheld the lower courts’ rulings, establishing the principle that courts should not question the subjective belief of the executive in matters of national security.
Later life
Following his release in January 1942, Greene pursued claims for libel and false imprisonment but withdrew the action before a final judgment. He continued involvement in far‑right politics, founding the English Nationalist Association after leaving the BPP. Financial difficulties arising from his legal battles led to bankruptcy proceedings that were never completed.
Death
Ben Greene died in October 1978.
Legacy
Greene’s internment and the resulting legal precedent in Liversidge v Anderson remain significant in British constitutional law, illustrating the limits of judicial review over executive decisions made under wartime emergency powers. His political trajectory—from Labour pacifist to right‑wing activist—reflects the complex ideological currents in Britain during the interwar and wartime periods.
