David Atkinson

David Atkinson, who has died aged 71, was for 28 years the Conservative MP for Bournemouth East, and was known for his involvement with Christian dissidents in the Soviet Union.

In 1980 the dissident priest Fr Dmitri Dusko suddenly pledged loyalty to the Kremlin, claiming on television that he had refused to meet Atkinson, who had arrived in Moscow on a “subversive” mission. Atkinson, who was chairman of Christian Solidarity International, said he had in fact met Fr Dusko.

Three years later the Soviet authorities claimed that Atkinson, under the guise of a tourist, was acting as a courier between other dissidents and the “anti-Soviet” Council of Europe.

Atkinson was a delegate to the Council of Europe and Western European Union for almost his entire parliamentary career; he led the Conservative contingent from 1997, and through the Council became the first backbench MP to address the United Nations General Assembly.

A “hawk” during the Cold War, Atkinson later, as the Council’s special rapporteur, helped start negotiations on a democratic Russia becoming a member.

Atkinson’s loyalty to successive Tory leaders wavered only twice. He was nearly sacked as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Paul Channon for voting for the return of corporal punishment; and, when vice-chairman of the Conservative backbench health committee, he rebelled against the imposition of NHS dental charges. When Euro-sceptics tried to defeat John Major in 1993 over the Maastricht treaty, Atkinson came from his hospital bed to vote, still in his dressing gown.

David Anthony Atkinson was born at Westcliff-on-Sea on March 24 1940 . At St George’s College, Weybridge, he made and launched three-stage rockets, and he would later become vice-chairman of the Space Society and form an All-Party Space Committee .

Atkinson went into the motor trade, completing his studies at Southend College of Technology and Chelsea College of Automobile and Aeronautical Engineering, then from 1973 ran a printing and marketing company.

Active in the Young Conservatives and in turn a Southend and Essex county councillor, Atkinson spoke regularly at party conferences and did research for Central Office ; he was national YC chairman in 1970-71. He fought Newham North-East in February 1974, and Basildon that October.

He owed his arrival at Westminster in November 1977 to the links between Bournemouth East’s sitting MP, Sir John Cordle, and the corrupt Yorkshire architect John Poulson. Cordle resigned his seat in tears after being found in contempt of the House for soliciting £1,000 to lobby for Poulson without disclosing the payment.

Atkinson increased Cordle’s majority, and soon won headlines by complaining of “Soviet-style” treatment of a local restaurateur by VAT inspectors who had counted the peas in a portion and the number of prawns in a vol-au-vent. He went on to campaign against intrusion and alleged phone tapping by the Customs & Excise.

When Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979, Atkinson began an eight-year stint as PPS to Paul Channon, in turn Civil Service Minister, Arts Minister and Trade & Industry Secretary.

After a rampage in Bournemouth in 1990 by ticketless Leeds United fans, Atkinson urged the Home Secretary, David Waddington, to give police the power to ban matches.

In 1990 he went to Nepal to try to secure the release of 17 local Christians imprisoned for proselytising. Two years later, as British president of the International Society for Human rights, he identified Bosnian Serb prison camps where inmates were allegedly murdered, raped, tortured and starved.

He left the Commons in 2005, and last year was diagnosed with bowel cancer .

David Atkinson married, in 1968, Susan Pilsworth, who survives him with their son and daughter.

David Atkinson, born March 24 1940, died January 23 2012