Ann Taylor

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

Ann Taylor was a Labour MP from 1974 to 2005, when she entered the House of Lords as Baroness Taylor of Bolton.

Ann Taylor - from: The Guardian, Photograph: PA

Parliamentary career

Labour MP from 1974 to 2005, which included:

• Shadow Secretary of State from 1992 to 1995
• Chair of the intelligence and security committee between 2001 and 2005
• Chief Whip under Tony Blair from 1998 to 2001. A notable moment of this position includes when the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) was passed.

Entered the House of Lords as Baroness Taylor of Bolton in 2005 where she held two ministerial briefs:

• Minister for Defence Equipment between 2007 and 2008
• Minister for International Defence and Security between 2008 and 2010

Revolving door

Taylor joined the administrative board of the arms contractor Thales in 2010. Thales had been part of the consortium supplying two aircraft carriers that were £1.541bn over budget.

The prime minister's Advisory Committee on Business Appointments at the time saw no reason why Taylor should not join the board of Thales, subject to ACOBA's usual two-year lobbying ban, whereby she should not be personally involved in lobbying UK ministers or Crown servants, including special advisers, on behalf of the arms firm.

Chair of 'Snoopers Charter' committee

In 2015 Taylor was approached by the home secretary Theresa May and accepted the job of chairing a joint committee on the controversial investigatory powers bill, commonly referred to as the ‘Snooper’s Charter’.