Ed Llewellyn
Ed Llewellyn is chief of staff to the UK Prime Minister David Cameron.[1] As soon as Cameron became Tory leader, in 2005, Mr Llewellyn was one of the first recruits to work in his private office[2] and after the 2015 general election Llewellyn took on the added responsibility of managing EU renegotiations.[3]
For his chief of staff role, Llewellyn earns £140,000 a year. [4]
Contents
Background
Nicknamed "Steady Eddie", Llewellyn attended both Eton and Oxford with Cameron. During the period of Conservative opposition, he was an adviser to Chris Patten (working for him during the 1997 handover of Hong Kong from the UK to China) and worked alongside Paddy Ashdown in Bosnia.[5]
Llewellyn has worked with Cameron for many years, initially as colleagues at the Conservative Central Office after graduation and thus liaising with one another during the 1992 general election. [2]
In May 2010 The Spectator tipped Cameron's chief of staff Llewellyn to be "the new power broker" and "one of the most influential people in Downing Street these next few years". In addition to his good relations with the Liberal Democrats - having been sidekick to Ashdown and also good friends with Nick Clegg's wife, Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, during his time in Brussels - he "has extensive links across government". For example, he has twice worked alongside National Security Adviser Peter Ricketts (in Hong Kong and Bosnia).[6]
Phone hacking investigation
In an email to Llewellyn on 10 September 2010, Assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner John Yates offered to brief the Prime Minister on his examination of the News of the World phone hacking investigation. Llewellyn responded:
- On the other matters that have caught your attention this week, assuming we are thinking of the same thing, I am sure you will understand that we will want to be able to be entirely clear, for your sake and ours, that we have not been in contact with you about this subject.
- So I don't think it would really be appropriate for the PM, or anyone else at No 10, to discuss this issue with you, and would be grateful if it were not raised please.[7]
Prime Minister promises plum diplomatic role for old school chum
The Daily Mail has reported that David Cameron has lined up a top job for Llewellyn following the general election in May 2015. The newspaper describes how Cameron has lined up a diplomatic job for his old schoolfriend who currently works as his chief of staff. He has reportedly been promised this key ambassadorship after the 2015 Election as a ‘thank you’ for his loyalty according to some sources. [8]
Contact, Resources, Notes
Resources
- Tim Edwards Guarding the PM: the very secretive Ed Llewellyn The Week, 20 July 2011
Notes
- ↑ Department of Information Services, " Parliamentary Information List", accessed 07.09.10
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Andy McSmith Ed Llewellyn: The old school chum in trouble for not communicating The Independent, 20 July 2011, accessed 15 October 2014.
- ↑ Frances Perraudin Sunday Times columnist Camilla Cavendish to head No 10 policy unit Guardian, 21 May 2015, accessed 26 May 2015.
- ↑ Special advisers in post, 30 November 2014 GOV.UK, accessed 28 April 2015
- ↑ Channel 4, "Hung parliament: who are the dealmakers?", accessed 07.09.10
- ↑ James Forsyth, "The new power broker", The Spectator, 12.05.10, accessed 07.09.10
- ↑ Helene Mulholland and Matthew Taylor, Phone hacking: emails show Cameron aide 'stopped' briefing, guardian.co.uk, 19 July 2011.
- ↑ Cameron lines up top job for Eton friend Ed: Prime Minister promises plum diplomatic role for old school chum Daily Mail, 29 June 2014, accessed 28 April 2015
