Former Home Secretary, Chancellor and long-serving Barnet MP Reginald Maudling is attracting the attentions of a biographer for the first time.

Born in North Finchley in 1917 and an MP in the borough from 1950 until his death in 1979, he was a mild, gentle and agreeable chap', according to his new biographer Lewis Baston despite having once notoriously referred to Ireland as a bloody awful country'.

"When he became Home Secretary in 1970, he had to visit Northern Ireland," said Mr Baston, who works at Kingston University in south London. "He wasn't used to all the hatred and ferocity, so his verdict when he left was what a bloody awful country, get me a large scotch as soon as you can'.

"I thought he was an interesting character so I wanted to read a biography about him. But I discovered there wasn't one, so I got in touch with his family and decided to write one.

"People just don't know very much about him now and there is so much to tell. People who knew him always say what a pleasant, jolly man he was."

Initially his constituency included Hatfield and Borehamwood as well as Barnet, but shrunk to broadly the present Chipping Barnet constituency after boundary changes.

Highlights of Mr Maudling's career include being involved in the first negotiations of Britain entering Europe and being the only Conservative Chancellor to have a budget endorsed by the trade unions.

But Mr Baston, who has been researching since the beginning of the year and hopes to have the book finished by the end of 2003, is looking for more information.

He said: "If anyone remembers people he helped with constituency problems, or any stories of meeting him or knowing him whether good or bad I'd be delighted to hear them. I'm interested in the truth about him, what he was like. He is a figure from a bit of a vanished age."

If you can help Mr Baston, call him on 020 8969 7708.