Born into an upper-middle-class family in Crowborough, Sussex, he was educated at a local preparatory school and at Lancing College. In his revolt against the values of his burgeois upbringing he joined the Communist Party, from which he was eventually expelled in 1942.
Several writers on British espionage have claimed that Driberg was a counter-agent, working for the British security service. Driberg was also drawn to the Anglo-Catholic wing of the Church of England; he remained a devout Anglo-Catholic.
At the age of thirteen he had his first sexual experience with a man in a public lavatory. From then on sex became his ruling passion. In 1924 he entered Christ Church, Oxford University, where he left three years later without a degree.
In 1942 he was elected to Prliament as an Independent for the local constituency of Maldon. Three years later he joined the Labour Party. In 1959 he returned to Parliament as a Labour member for Barking, a seat that he retained until his retirement in 1974.
Through his life Driberg enjoyed many homosexual adventures; he pursued working-class young men for sex and was never discreet about his activities. On several occasions he was caught by the police but successfully avoided public scandal.
To the surprise of his friends and parliament colleagues, in 1951 Driberg married Ena Binfield in an elaborate ceremony at an Anglo-Catholic church in London. It turned out to be an unhappy marriage. They increasingly lived apart and in 1971 they finally separated.
In 1975, after his retirement from the House of Commons, he was made a life peer, taking the title of Baron Bradwell of Bradwell juxta Mare in the County of Essex. Driberg's homosexuality was widely known among politicians and journalists; he was among the most prominent homosexuals in British public life.
Source: Aldrich R. & Wotherspoon G., Who's Who in Contemporary Gay and Lesbian History, from WWII to Present Day, Routledge, London, 2001
