Lexington Communications

This article is part of the Foodspin project of Spinwatch.

Lexington Communications is a PR and lobbying company based in London.

The view out to High Holborn from the Connection

Campaigns

Pro-biotech

Lexington provides PR and lobbying services to a slew of genetically modified (GM) crop companies: BASF, Syngenta, Novartis, the umbrella group the Agricultural Biotechnology Council (see below), as well as the Crop Protection Association, which represents the interests of the pesticides industry.

Biotech front groups

In 2003, Lexington was hired by the corporate front group the Agricultural Biotechnology Council (ABC). ABC's founder members are Monsanto, Bayer CropScience, BASF, Dow Agrosciences, Dupont and Syngenta. At the same time Lexington hired Bernard Marantelli, a PR operative from Monsanto. Part of his job in 2003 was to run a pro-GM PR campaign for the ABC to educate 'regulators, legislators, retailers and consumer groups'. The budget was £250,000, the same amount of money that was originally proposed for the whole national Public Debate on GM in the UK, held in 2003.

The name of the Agricultural Biotechnology Council also succeeded in creating confusion in the public's mind because of its similarity to the government-appointed Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission.

In early 2008 it was revealed that GM food companies had lobbied the government department responsible for GM to be allowed to hide the locations of crop trials. Lexington confirmed its involvement in this as part of its work covering “all aspects of external communications” for the ABC.

Lexington also works for GM industry lobbying group, CropLife International and was working for CropGen, another biotech front organisation which was run by Countrywide Porter Novelli. The Chair of CropGen is Vivian Moses who is also on the advisory board of the Scientific Alliance, another pro-biotech front organisation.

Pro-nanotech

Bernard Marantelli also convinced about 30 companies to come to a meeting to explore setting up a nanotechnology equivalent of the ABC. The Nanotech Association, which is run out of the same offices as Lexington, was launched in February 2005.

Working for the developers

Lexington is also involved in lobbying government on behalf of developers and the house-building sector, providing services to, among others, Tesco, Peel Holdings, Wharf Land Investment, Places for People Developments, BeeBee Developments and Gladedale. Lexington is able to provide inside political knowledge of the sector at both a national and local level: Directot Jo-Anne Daniels previously spent nine years as a senior civil servant at the Treasury, was an advisor to Gordon Brown, and managed and published the significant Barker Review on housing in 2004. Also Richard Thomas, who joined in 2008, was previously Cabinet Member for Regeneration on Southwark Council, with political responsibility for one of London’s largest regeneration programmes, the redevelopment of Elephant & Castle. On taking the job, Thomas agreed with Lexington not to work on matters relating to his previous role with Southwark Council.

People

• Mike Craven, founding partner. Craven is a former adviser to the UK's Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, and former chief media spokesperson for the Labour Party. Craven is also a former boss of GPC Market Access. It was accused by transparency campaigners in Brussels Corporate Europe Observatory of waging a 'massive disinformation campaign' over its campaign on patenting genes.
• Ian Kennedy, founding partner. He specialises in issues management and lobbying. He is a former Labour party adviser who worked for senior government ministers while Labour was in Opposition. He worked on both the 1992 and the 1997 Election campaigns.
• Sarah Doyle, director specialising in advising companies based in the health, science and pharmaceutical sectors. Doyle is also a founder of the science think tank Newton's Apple.

Clients

Lobbying clients listed in 2009:
Agricultural Biotechnology Council | Alexandra Palace Authority | Advertising Association | Balfour Beatty | BeeBee Developments | British Airways | Crop Protection Association | Design and Artists’ Copyright Society | Disasters Emergency Committee | EdExcel | Ethical Medicines Industry Group | Ford | CropLife International | Goldman Sachs | Green Property | Gladedale Group | HNJV Ltd | Kraft Foods UK Ltd | Landmark Information Group | Livingstone Group | Merck Sharp & Dohme | Mars UK | National Australia Group | National Heritage Lottery Fund | NBC Universal Pictures | Novartis | Places for People | Phonographic Performance Limited | Prudential Corporation | Pye Homes | Royal & SunAlliance | RAL | AEA/Scottish Power | SEGRO Plc | Solicitors Regulation Authority | Syngenta | Tesco | The Christie NHS Foundation Trust | Trainline Holdings | Travelodge | UCB Pharna | UPS Europe | Whaftland Investments

Contacts

The Connection, 198 High Holborn, London
http://www.lexcomm.co.uk

The Connection, view from High Holborn

Lexington is based on the top two floors of The Connection, Dragon Lane, Covent Garden, London, a new 3,500 sq.m. office building located between High Holborn and Stukeley Street, wrapped around the southern flank of the old Holborn Town Hall.

Resources

• Lexington UK Staff and Clients 30.11.03 - 31.05.04
• Lexington UK Staff and clients, 1 June 2005 to 30 Nov 2005
• ^ Lexington website - Mike Craven, undated, accessed March 2006
• ^ ABC website, undated, accessed March 2006
• ^ Christian Garnett Partners website - The Connection, undated, accessed March 2006

Articles

• ^ Andy Rowell, "The alliance of science", The Guardian, March 26, 2003
• ^ Corporate Watch "Lobby and PR groups go for nano honeypot", October/November 2005
• ^ Corporate Europe Observatory, "Industry and the EU Life Patent Directive", May 1998