George Lyon

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George Lyon, MEP

George Lyon (born 16 July 1956, Rothesay) is a senior consultant at PR and lobbying firm Hume Brophy and a former MEP for Scotland from Liberal Democrats.

Politics

Lyon was a member of Scottish Parliament for the Scottish Liberal Democrats in Argyll and Bute from May 1999 to May 2007, where he lost to Jim Mather of the Scottish National Party.

This article is part of the MEPedia project of Spinwatch.

He was then elected as a member of the European Parliament, representing Scotland for the Liberal Democrats from July 2009 to June 2014. Lyon was the Liberal Democrats' only member of the European Parliament for Scotland during this time. Whilst in the European Parliament Lyon was vice-chair of the Committee on Budgets and a member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.

Hume Brophy

On the 12 January 2015 he was announced as a senior consultant to the agri-food practice at PR and lobbying firm Hume Brophy, and will be providing corporate communications and government relations support to the sector. The Herald (Scotland) reported that Hume Brophy "counts controversial multinational Monsanto as a client". Alan Smyth, a Scottish National Party MEP, said: "George is free to be as extreme on GM as he likes, and is free to voice his view, but he should be open about whose shilling he is taking. George has every right to be Monsanto's mouthpiece, but his views should carry a suitable hazard warning label so people can judge how impartial those views are."

Support for GM

Lyon is an outspoken supporter of genetically modified (GM) crops. In early 2011 he hosted a "debate" in Brussels on the health and environmental impact of GMO cultivation and was the major cited source of a newspaper story that had this breathless opener:

Europe's farmers are being left behind as the rest of the world embraces the potential of genetically modified crops to boost food production, reduce inputs and protect the environment. That was the claim from Scots LibDem MEP George Lyon, who this week hosted a debate on the health and environmental impact of GMO cultivation in Brussels.

Parliamentary affiliations

Vice-Chair:

Committee on Budgets, 25 January 2012 - 30 June 2014

Member:

Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, 16 July 2009 - 18 January 2012 and 19 January 2012 - 30 June 2014

Delegation for relations with Australia and New Zealand, 16 September 2009 - 30 June 2014

Committee on Budgets, 19 January 2012 - 24 January 2012

Substitute:

Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, 16 July 2009 - 18 January 2012

Delegation for relations with Canada, 16 September 2009 - 30 June 2014

Committee on Petitions, 16 December 2009 - 18 January 2012

Committee on Fisheries, 19 January 2012 - 30 June 2014

Resources

• European Parliament, Declaration of Members' Financial Interests: George Lyon, 02 July 2009, accessed 03 November 2009.
• European Parliament, MEP Directory: George Lyon, accessed 03 November 2009.
• European Parliament, MEP Directory: George Lyon, accessed 30 November 2010.