Alex Deane

Alex Deane leads the public affairs team at Weber Shandwick. He is a former director of Bell Pottinger Public Affairs, a former chief of staff to David Cameron in opposition, and the founding director of Big Brother Watch.

Views

In a piece written for PR Week in June 2011 Deane declared his love for think-tanks and campaigning organisations, although recognising that "the line between the two was becoming increasingly blurred":

"But I still think that my perceptions are accurate when I say that the importance of these groups has never been higher. They exert influence upon, and provide room to debate for, the leading lights within the coalition Government. And their importance should not be overlooked by those working in public relations.

Think-tanks are changing minds at the heart of our national debate."

He highlighted the influence of several right-wing and free-market think tanks such as the Taxpayers' Alliance, The Freedom Association, Adam Smith Institute, Institute of Economic Affairs and Policy Exchange and Politeia.

Career

According to his biography on the Bell Pottinger website:

In 2004-2005 he was Chief of Staff to Tim Collins and David Cameron during their respective periods as Shadow Secretaries of State for Education, and worked in the Conservative Party’s Headquarters.

In 2007, Alex was asked to serve as an adviser to the Australian Liberal Party’s campaign for re-election at the federal polls under John Howard. He spent seven months on that campaign – and even demonstrated his commitment to the cause by subsequently marrying an Australian Liberal.

As the founding Director of prominent civil liberties campaigning organisation Big Brother Watch, Alex led the production of researched reports on CCTV cameras, the DNA database, covert surveillance by councils, data chips in dustbins, the right of local officials to enter private property, privacy in the NHS and CCTV cars. In campaigning on all of these issues and more, he lobbied all of the political parties and appeared regularly on national and international radio and television.

Alex read English Literature at Cambridge University and took a Masters degree in International Relations as a Rotary Scholar at Griffith University. He is a World Universities Debating Champion. A barrister by training Alex is the author, co-author or editor of several books and pamphlets about law and politics.

Publications

• former editor of Big Brother Watch: the state of civil liberties in modern Britain.

Freedom of Information Requests on Behalf of Big Tobacco

In September 2011 the Independent newspaper established that Deane was involved in requesting FOI 'from public organisations without making it clear they are working on behalf of tobacco firms'. Deane, it said,

played a key role in attempts to use the freedom of information law against one public organisation involved in promoting awareness against the health dangers of roll-up tobacco. Mr Deane is a director of Bell Pottinger which earlier this year requested documents from a health-awareness organisation funded by the NHS, the Bristol-based Smoke Free South West, following a campaign it ran against roll-up tobacco, which is popular in that part of the country.

Soon after this informal request, Smoke Free South West received a formal freedom of information request for the same documentation from Big Brother Watch, a right-of-centre libertarian group founded by Mr Deane.

Neither Bell Pottinger nor Big Brother Watch declared to Smoke Free South West that they had held discussions with one another or with Bristol-based Imperial Tobacco, which is listed as one of Bell Pottinger's clients in the PR firm's website, and makes Golden Virginia rolling tobacco and Rizla cigarette papers. Mr Deane was not available for comment yesterday; Bell Pottinger said he was on holiday. David Petrie, the Bell Pottinger executive who sent the email requests to Smoke Free South West, did not return calls. Daniel Hamilton, a director of Big Brother Watch, refused to confirm or deny that his organisation had been in contact with Bell Pottinger or Imperial Tobacco over the FOI request to Smoke Free South West. "We don't work on behalf of other groups. We only work on behalf of ourselves... We've got no formal links with anyone in the tobacco industry," Mr Hamilton said.

Affiliations

• active member of the Conservative Party since 1995.
• Freedom Association - member
• elected Councilman in the City of London

Clients

• 'provides counsel and advice to a range of companies and organisations'

Contact

Former details at BPPA

Email: : adeane@bell-pottinger.co.uk

Tel: 020 7861 3822

Website:http://www.bppa.co.uk/whoweare/view/51/alex_deane/

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