Peter Luff

This article is part of the Revolving Door project of Spinwatch.

This article is part of the Lobbying Portal, a sunlight project from Spinwatch.

(Sir) Peter James Luff MP (born 18 February 1955) is a former lobbyist turned politician who was Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology at the UK Ministry of Defence between 2010-2012. He was the member of Parliament for Worcester from 1992 to 1997 and Worcester Mid from 1997 to 2015. Luff announced in September 2012 he would not be contesting the May 2015 general election and was replaced by Nigel Huddleston who held the seat.

Since leaving politics in 2015 Luff has taken up several private sector posts, including as an adviser to a major US defence firm.

He was knighted in 2014 for political and public service.

Background

Before entering parliament he worked for three years from 1977 as a research assistant to the Conservative MP Peter Walker, before heading up Edward Heath's private office for two years from 1980. He became the managing director of Good Relations Ltd, a lobbying company in 1982. In 1987 he became a special adviser to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, David Young. He became a senior consultant for Lowe Bell Communications (now Bell Pottinger Communications) in 1989, before again working for Good Relations from 1990.

Revolving Door roles

After stepping down as an MP at the 2015 UK general election, Luff began working as an adviser to the US-based arms firm L3 Communications. He describes L3 on his personal website 'as a prime contractor in aerospace systems and national security solutions and a leading provider of a broad range of communication and electronic systems'.

In July 2014 the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments approved Luff's appointment as the chairman of the oversight board at Royal United Services Institute and the University of Roehampton and the chairman of the board of directors at the Pub Governing Body.

Parliamentary career

He contested Holborn and St Pancras at the 1987 General Election but was comfortably beaten by the sitting Labour Party MP, Frank Dobson. He was first elected to Parliament for Worcester, when he succeeded his former boss, Peter Walker. Following changes in the parliamentary constituency boundaries he moved seats to the new Worcestershire Mid, defeating the sitting Conservative MP, Eric Forth for the nomination. He won the seat comfortably and has been a member of the House of Commons since 1992.

In Parliament he was appointed a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) in 1993 to the energy minister Tim Eggar, from 1996 he served as PPS to both Ann Widdecombe the prisons minister at the Home Office and Lord Mackay the Lord Chancellor, he held these two positions simultaneously until the defeat of the Conservative government at the 1997 general election. He has served on many parliamentary select committees including chairing the House of Commons Agriculture Select Committee (1997-2000), and since 2005 he had been the chair of the House of Commons Trade and Industry Committee.

He is the founder member of the Parliamentary Hunting with Hounds Middle Way Group, and takes a keen parliamentary interest in India.

Lobbying controversy

There have been a number of concerns over the close links between Bell Pottinger and influential Members of Parliament. Two reports in The Observer revealed that Peter Luff MP, in addition to being chairman of the Commons Agriculture Select Committee, was also in the pay of Bell Pottinger. According to the Observer, he had not made this apparent to his fellow committee members even when they were working on a report on GM.

Interests

• 10 February 2007, my wife and I attended the BAFTA Awards and a dinner as guests of Orange, mobile phone and broadband operator. (Registered 18 February 2007)
• 30 September -6 October 2007, to Hong Kong, to study economic developments in Hong Kong, as a guest of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office. (Registered 15 October 2007)
• Land and Property: Terraced property in Worcester, let on an assured tenancy.

Affiliations

• Westminster Media Forum
• Centre for Parliamentary Studies, advisory board

Director

• Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK Branch, Appointed: 03/12/2002 Resigned: 28/11/2006 Company No. 04606846
• Non-Executive Director, Marlin Group Holdings plc - from February 2013
• Chairman, Democracy Forum - from January 2013
• Non Executive Director, Parity Group Plc - from September 2013
• Chairman of the British Shooting Sports Council - from March 2014