Jonathan Caine
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This article is part of the Revolving Door project of Spinwatch. |
Jonathan Caine is a special adviser to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Owen Paterson.[1]
Background
From 1991 to 1995, Caine was special adviser to two Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland: Peter Brooke and Sir Patrick Mayhew. Caine then worked as Assistant Director in the Conservative Research Department from 1998 to 2007, specialising in Northern Ireland.[2] Caine spent time as adviser to John Major and chief speech writer for William Hague.[3]
Bell Pottinger
From March 2007 to December 2009, he was a director at lobbying firm Bell Pottinger Public Affairs (BPPA). His appointment was "a coup for BPPA, providing the agency with a valuable link to Cameron's inner circle".[4]
Special Adviser
On leaving BPPA, Caine rejoined the Conservatives as Chief of Staff to Owen Paterson in the run up to the 2010 general election.[5] He was due to return to BPPA after the election, but instead took up his current position as Paterson's special adviser.[6]
In 2008, Irish Times journalist Frank Millar commented that "Cameron's surprise embrace of UUP" would leave the DUP "smarting". He writes:
- Jonathan Caine, a former special adviser to secretaries of state Peter (Lord) Brooke and Patrick (Lord) Mayhew, recalls discussing the issues and the difficulties with the young Cameron when they worked together in the Conservative Research Department in the early 1990s. "It was hard to imagine such progress back then," says Caine: "But he has always had a genuine desire to see Northern Ireland politics normalised." Lord Trimble and influential shadow Northern Ireland secretary Owen Paterson are among those who have been working behind the scenes to encourage Cameron's belief that - courtesy of the Belfast and St Andrews Agreements - the opportunity exists now to move beyond "the old issues".[7]
Contact, Resources, Notes
Notes
- ↑ Department of Information Services, "Parliamentary Information List", accessed 07.09.10
- ↑ Public Administration Committee, "Supplementary memorandum from Bell Pottinger Public Affairs", accessed 13.09.10
- ↑ David Singleton, "Cameron aide leaves to take BPPA job", PR Week UK, 21.02.07, accessed 13.09.10
- ↑ David Singleton, "Cameron aide leaves to take BPPA job", PR Week UK, 21.02.07, accessed 13.09.10
- ↑ Bell Pottinger Public Affairs, "Jonathan Caine appointed chief of staff to shadow Northern Ireland secretary Owen Paterson", 13.11.09, accessed 13.09.10
- ↑ Ian Hall, "'PEOPLE MOVES' - July 2010 edition ", Public Affairs News, 02.07.10, accessed 13.09.10
- ↑ Frank Millar, "Cameron's surprise embrace of UUP shows fresh Tory thinking on North", The Irish Times, 25.07.08, accessed 13.09.10