New chief whip and MP for Skipton and Ripon made police complaint after Edward Snowden revelations were published

Julian Smith profile: remainer who once called for Guardian to be prosecuted

Julian Smith, the new chief whip, has a relatively low profile outside parliament, given his seven years as an MP, and perhaps remains best known for demanding the Guardian be prosecuted over the Edward Snowden revelations.

Seen by some fellow Tory MPs as a less divisive and scheming figure than the former chief whip, Gavin Williamson, who is now defence secretary, Smith has represented the safe North Yorkshire seat of Skipton and Ripon since 2010.

Before becoming an MP Smith, 46, set up an executive recruitment company. He joined the whips’ office after the 2015 election, rising to deputy chief whip in June.

While Williamson cultivated a persona of almost theatrical menace, keeping a tarantula in his office, Smith is seen as more straightforward.

One of the Conservatives first elected in June 2017 said Smith had been in charge of introducing new MPs to the Commons.

“He ran the whole induction process for us and did a very good job. I was impressed with him from the start,” they said.

One element of Smith’s record could, however, worry some Tory MPs – before the Brexit referendum he was a strong supporter of Britain staying in the EU.

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In a statement still on his personal website, Smith expressed concern at what Brexit could bring. “The EU single market is important because it means job opportunities for our children and grandchildren,” he argued.

“Of course we would survive outside the EU but the question is would we do as well as we would within it?”

After the Brexit vote Smith told a local paper he had faced abuse for his views during the referendum, leaving him feeling “threatened”.

While generally on the more socially liberal wing of the party – he supported gay marriage – Smith prompted accusations of authoritarianism in 2013 when he called for the Guardian to be prosecuted for publishing stories about the extent of state surveillance based on leaks from the US whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Smith had called the debate in Westminster Hall after making a complaint about the Guardian to the police.

Smith grew up in Stirling, central Scotland, attending a local comprehensive before gaining a sixth-form bursary to Millfield public school. He then read history and English at Birmingham University.