> Days after No 10 said it would employ PM’s chief of staff directly, top advisers also revealed to be on secondment from his company.
>
> Two of the prime minister’s most senior advisers are being paid through her chief of staff’s lobbying company in a highly unusual arrangement.
>
> Last week, The Sunday Times revealed that Mark Fullbrook, Liz Truss’s chief of staff, was not employed by the government and had instead been seconded to Downing Street by his firm. Critics said the deal shielded him from transparency rules and posed a potential financial advantage days after Truss made it easier for consultants to classify themselves as self-employed for tax purposes.
>
> Days later, Downing Street bowed to pressure and said it would employ Fullbrook, 60, directly. The move brought him in line with past chiefs of staff and ended a situation in which someone was directing the government’s strategy without being employed by it.
>
> However, No 10 failed to acknowledge that two of Truss’s most influential aides were also lobbyists on secondment from Fullbrook Strategies. They are Alice Robinson, who runs Truss’s private office, and Mac Chapwell, her political adviser.
>
> Robinson, 38, was a founding member of Fullbrook’s company when it was incorporated in April this year. She previously ran Boris Johnson’s parliamentary office, and is married to Jake Berry, the new Conservative Party chairman.
>
> Chapwell, 32, is a former Tory official who worked at Fullbrook’s company until last month. He was pictured standing outside Downing Street as Truss made her first address as prime minister.
>
> No 10 refused to say why they were paid by a firm that has lobbied for clients including a Libyan regime that is not recognised by the West or the United Nations, an energy provider and a PPE firm linked to a fundamentalist Christian sect.
>
> Last week, Jordan Urban, a researcher at the Institute for Government, said the conduct of anyone on secondment fell “outside the scope” of the civil service and special adviser codes of conduct. An adviser on such an arrangement is able to take on “unregulated work outside No 10” while in government, and does not need to refer themselves to Acoba, the anti-corruption watchdog, upon taking on private sector roles after leaving. This situation, Urban said, “creates potential for conflicts of interest”.
>
> Fullbrook Strategies says it has “suspended its commercial activities”. However, the company is still operational and it has been widely reported that Fullbrook hopes to land a lucrative contract for his firm to run the Conservative Party’s general election campaign. He could leave No 10 to begin planning for a contest as soon as December, The Times reported.
>
> Under Cameron-era legislation, lobbying firms are required to publish the names of clients on whose behalf they have contacted ministers or senior officials, but the definition of lobbying is vague. It is unclear which clients Robinson may have assisted to date. Leaked documents reveal Chapwell, the firm’s former head of campaigns, was involved in lobbying for Fathi Bashagha, a Libyan politician whose claim to be the country’s prime minister is not recognised by the international community.
>
> The disclosures will place fresh pressure on Fullbrook, who has insisted he did not enter No 10 on secondment for tax reasons but will not explain why he did. They come weeks after it emerged that he was involved in an alleged criminal conspiracy to subvert democracy in the US-administered island of Puerto Rico, and was interviewed by FBI agents. He denies any wrongdoing or any knowledge of any bribe.
>
> They also pose questions for Truss, who succeeded Johnson after MPs revolted over the government’s failure to combat sleaze but has refused to appoint an independent ethics adviser.
>
> Last night, No 10 responded that in due course they would place Robinson and Chapwell on regular contracts. A Downing Street spokesman said: “While there are established arrangements for employees to join government on secondment, to avoid any ongoing speculation, all special advisers will be employed directly by the government on a special adviser contract.
>
> “All government employees, including those joining on secondment, are subject to the necessary checks and vetting, and all special advisers declare their interests in line with Cabinet Office guidance.”
Article by Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall Correspondent
Saturday October 01 2022, 6.00pm, The Sunday Times
Corrupt to the very core, it is like Boris never left.
2 comments
> Days after No 10 said it would employ PM’s chief of staff directly, top advisers also revealed to be on secondment from his company.
>
> Two of the prime minister’s most senior advisers are being paid through her chief of staff’s lobbying company in a highly unusual arrangement.
>
> Last week, The Sunday Times revealed that Mark Fullbrook, Liz Truss’s chief of staff, was not employed by the government and had instead been seconded to Downing Street by his firm. Critics said the deal shielded him from transparency rules and posed a potential financial advantage days after Truss made it easier for consultants to classify themselves as self-employed for tax purposes.
>
> Days later, Downing Street bowed to pressure and said it would employ Fullbrook, 60, directly. The move brought him in line with past chiefs of staff and ended a situation in which someone was directing the government’s strategy without being employed by it.
>
> However, No 10 failed to acknowledge that two of Truss’s most influential aides were also lobbyists on secondment from Fullbrook Strategies. They are Alice Robinson, who runs Truss’s private office, and Mac Chapwell, her political adviser.
>
> Robinson, 38, was a founding member of Fullbrook’s company when it was incorporated in April this year. She previously ran Boris Johnson’s parliamentary office, and is married to Jake Berry, the new Conservative Party chairman.
>
> Chapwell, 32, is a former Tory official who worked at Fullbrook’s company until last month. He was pictured standing outside Downing Street as Truss made her first address as prime minister.
>
> No 10 refused to say why they were paid by a firm that has lobbied for clients including a Libyan regime that is not recognised by the West or the United Nations, an energy provider and a PPE firm linked to a fundamentalist Christian sect.
>
> Last week, Jordan Urban, a researcher at the Institute for Government, said the conduct of anyone on secondment fell “outside the scope” of the civil service and special adviser codes of conduct. An adviser on such an arrangement is able to take on “unregulated work outside No 10” while in government, and does not need to refer themselves to Acoba, the anti-corruption watchdog, upon taking on private sector roles after leaving. This situation, Urban said, “creates potential for conflicts of interest”.
>
> Fullbrook Strategies says it has “suspended its commercial activities”. However, the company is still operational and it has been widely reported that Fullbrook hopes to land a lucrative contract for his firm to run the Conservative Party’s general election campaign. He could leave No 10 to begin planning for a contest as soon as December, The Times reported.
>
> Under Cameron-era legislation, lobbying firms are required to publish the names of clients on whose behalf they have contacted ministers or senior officials, but the definition of lobbying is vague. It is unclear which clients Robinson may have assisted to date. Leaked documents reveal Chapwell, the firm’s former head of campaigns, was involved in lobbying for Fathi Bashagha, a Libyan politician whose claim to be the country’s prime minister is not recognised by the international community.
>
> The disclosures will place fresh pressure on Fullbrook, who has insisted he did not enter No 10 on secondment for tax reasons but will not explain why he did. They come weeks after it emerged that he was involved in an alleged criminal conspiracy to subvert democracy in the US-administered island of Puerto Rico, and was interviewed by FBI agents. He denies any wrongdoing or any knowledge of any bribe.
>
> They also pose questions for Truss, who succeeded Johnson after MPs revolted over the government’s failure to combat sleaze but has refused to appoint an independent ethics adviser.
>
> Last night, No 10 responded that in due course they would place Robinson and Chapwell on regular contracts. A Downing Street spokesman said: “While there are established arrangements for employees to join government on secondment, to avoid any ongoing speculation, all special advisers will be employed directly by the government on a special adviser contract.
>
> “All government employees, including those joining on secondment, are subject to the necessary checks and vetting, and all special advisers declare their interests in line with Cabinet Office guidance.”
Article by Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall Correspondent
Saturday October 01 2022, 6.00pm, The Sunday Times
Corrupt to the very core, it is like Boris never left.