Liberal Democrat colleague and former I’m A Celebrity contestant Brian Paddick’s husband showed him in his latest social media posts that he was at home in Oslo enjoying time on a beach.
The sad death of Peter Belsvik was announced yesterday by Lord Paddick, 64, who said the cause was not ‘immediately clear’.
And it was clear from Mr Belsvik’s public profile on social media that everything was normal before his sudden passing.
His latest Instagram post was of snow on trees in front of what appeared to be an office building in Oslo, with the caption “Brutalist snow.”
A week earlier, he showed an image of him in Cape Town with the caption ‘glorious’.
He and his husband Lord Paddick were photographed with George Takei in London on Jan. 17 watching the former Star Trek actor’s play Allegiance.
Then 20 weeks ago he posted photos of himself and the former deputy assistant commissioner of the Met vacationing in Hawaii.
Peter Belsvik’s public social media profile showed a holiday he and Lord Paddilck had enjoyed
Mr Belsvik posted a picture of Lord Paddick on the beach enjoying their holiday
The Hawaiian paradise was on full display in the social media photos shown online
Brian Paddick (right), 64, a Liberal Democrat who also served as Deputy Assistant Commissioner in London’s Metropolitan Police Service until his retirement in 2007, announced the death of Petter Belsvik (pictured left) on Monday. He said Mr. Belsvik died at their home in Oslo
In a tribute on Twitter yesterday, Lord Paddick said: ‘My beautiful, loving husband, Petter Belsvik, passed away suddenly at our home in Oslo.
“He was found peacefully alone, with the cause of death not immediately apparent. It will take some time to determine what happened.
“We were committed to each other and I’m devastated.”
His Twitter announcement was met with an outpouring of congratulations, tributes and condolences.
Broadcaster Kay Burley wrote: ‘My dear Brian, this is truly tragic news. All my thoughts are with you. Stay strong xxx.”
Peer and Conservative politician Lord Bethell tweeted in response: ‘how awful! I’m so sorry. Many prayers and good vibes to you.”
Lord Paddick (pictured right in both photos) said the cause of his husband’s death was not ‘immediately clear’ and that it would take ‘some time to establish what happened’
And former BBC Home Office correspondent and journalist Danny Shaw wrote: ‘So sorry to hear that Brian. What a terrible shock. Thinking of you.’
It is clear that Mr. Belsvik was a civil engineer from Oslo. The couple met in a bar while on holiday in Ibiza and got married a few years later in Norway in 2009.
Same-sex marriage had been legalized in the country eight days earlier, and their marriage was one of the first high-profile unions to be sealed after the legislation was introduced.
In a 2008 article for the Daily Mail, Paddick recounted the story of how the pair first met, describing Belsvik as “a wonderful man: intelligent and witty but with a calm disposition that provides the perfect counterpoint to my volatility.” He is very easy to love’.
‘I was minding my own business on holiday in Ibiza when I met Petter. Inevitably it was my last day and after spending only 24 hours together we parted ways believing I would never see him again.
But then divine intervention came—well, not quite: it was Madonna. She played at Wembley Arena in London and my Norwegian holiday sweetheart came to see her.
“In a rash moment, I suggested that he could save the cost of a hotel by staying with me. It was a gamble, but it turned out to be the best weekend I’d ever spent with anyone.’
Wishes and condolences poured in following Paddick’s tragic Twitter post
FILE: Brian Paddick and partner Petter Belsvik ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here’ TV Show, Australia – December 2, 2008
FILE: Brian Paddick, Liberal Democrat MP, and husband Petter Belsvik (who married in Norway) at the 2013 Pride London gay pride parade
The late Petter Belsvik is pictured next to his husband Brian Paddick
Lord Paddick was a contestant in the eight series of ITV1’s reality TV show I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here which aired in 2008.
The pair were pictured embracing and kissing after Paddick left the jungle.
Paddick said in 2010 as part of the Liberal Democrat debate on equal marriage in the UK that the “real impact of (marriage as opposed to civil partnership), the symbolism of it, the importance of it, didn’t really strike me.” until we were in court at the courthouse in Oslo, and she said… we’re here today to witness Brian and Petter’s wedding.
And that was an intensely moving experience. We really feel, my husband and I, that we are really equal because we are married,” he said at the time.
Paddick, who was granted a peerage in September 2013, served more than 30 years on the force before retiring in May 2007 as Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Met Police.
He was responsible for a number of changes in policing priorities and methods in London, most notably making waves in the early 2000s when, in his role as Chief of Police for Lambeth, he ordered police officers to stop arresting people on the basis of petty charges of cannabis possession to release police tool for more impactful crimes.
He went on to run as the Lib Dem candidate for mayor of London in 2008 and 2012, losing out to Boris Johnson and later becoming a champion for diversity in leadership.
In the wake of the harrowing revelations about former officer David Carrick, who recently admitted to a series of rape and sexual assault charges, Paddick wrote an article in The Mail on Sunday last month alleging that senior members of the Met police were committing violent crimes. and racist cops he had reprimanded or fired.
