Richard Bernard Frank Stewart Body was born in Buckinghamshire on 18 May 1927. He was educated at Reading School and became a Barrister in 1949. He married Marion Graham in 1959.
At the age of 28 Body became Conservative MP for Billericay on his fourth attempt to enter Parliament, losing earlier elections in Rotherham, Abertillery and Leek. He stood down from his seat in 1959 to pursue his legal career, but returned in 1966 as the MP for Holland with Boston. He held the seat (after 1997 Boston and Skegness) until he stood down from Parliament in 2001.
During his time in Parliament he specialized in agricultural issues and organic farming and was a staunch defender of animal rights. One of the ‘Maastricht rebels’ who voted against John Major’s European policies, he resigned the Conservative Party whip in 1994.