Biography

He has a passion for steam trains.

Former British Conservative MP. He retired from politics in 2005 to pursue a career in the media.

First TV appearance was a commercial for Ribena fruit drink in 1961.

Although a conservative himself, Michael's father was a member of the left wing Spanish Republican governments in the 1930s, and became head of the London Diplomatic Office of the Government in Exile in 1972.

Father Luis Gabriel Portillo Pérez (18 March 1907-1993). Mother Cora (née Blyth) (1919-2014).

You drink 'port', you get 'ill' and you say 'o'. - This Week, BBC1 11th February 2010

[on Russia's occupation of Crimea] There's going to be no response of any consequence at all against Russia and that's obvious by what people are saying. When David Cameron talks about consequences, since that word is so unspecific and repeated on a daily basis, it is perfectly clear that it is meaningless.

[on fox hunting] I think vermin are going to get slaughtered anyway. Foxes are vermin and mice and rats. I think most people think that foxes are vermin and think they've got to be dealt with one way or another.

I think fox hunting and for that matter bullfighting are parts of cultures and I really worry about going around extinguishing the culture of a nation.

It may be because I have a Catholic tradition I make a distinction between the soul of a human being and the soul of an animal.