Mark Simmonds
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Mark Simmonds was the UK Conservative Party MP for Boston and Skegness from 2001- 2015.
He was parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from September 2012 for almost two years.[1]
Simmonds resigned from his role as minister for Africa on 11 August 2014[2], in part claiming that he could no longer afford to live on his £89,000 a year salary.
Revolving door
Since leaving his ministerial post Simmonds has taken up various advisory roles, including several related to his ministerial brief:
- strategic adviser to International Hospitals Group (IHG), a private firm based in Buckinghamshire involved in constructing hospitals in developing countries. Records show Simmonds met with IHG whilst parliamentary under-secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in December 2012 to 'discuss project in Ghana'.[3]
- managing director of the corporate investigation giant Kroll
- chairman of the advisory board of the private investment club Invest Africa
- chief operating officer of the Counter-Extremism Project, which is 'fighting the growth of Isis'
- strategic adviser of First
- a non-executive deputy chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council
- chief executive of Mortlock Simmonds [4]
Political career
Simmons' parliamentary career has included posts as:
- shadow minister (Health) 2003-04
- shadow minister (Education) 2004-04
- shadow minister (Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs) 2004-05,
- shadow minister (International Development) 2005-07
- shadow minister (Health) 2007-10
- parliamentary under-secretary (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) 2012-2014
External meetings
In January 2013 met with:[5]
- Cluff Geothermal in January 2013 to discuss energy sector in East Africa, and *Tullow Oil to discuss recent developments in Uganda and Kenya.
- Qatar Petroleum To discuss energy issues
In March 2013:[5]
- Visited the offices of BG Group, Dar es Salaam 'to discuss oil and gas opportunities for UK companies in Tanzania and in the East African region'
- Met with Centrica plc 'to discuss energy issues'
- Standard Chartered Bank 'to discuss Africa'
Notes
- ↑ Mark Simmonds, www.parliament.uk, accessed 9 November 2013.
- ↑ Ministerial appointments: 11 August 2014, Prime Minister's Office, 11 August 2014.
- ↑ Gov.UK Ministers: Meetings with external organisations, 31 December 2012, accessed 18 May 2015.
- ↑ Rajeev Syal, Tory minister who could not survive on salary takes role with private health firm, The Guardian, 14 May 2015, accessed same day
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Transparency data: Ministers: Quarterly return - January to March 2013 - Meetings with external organisations, published July 2013, accessed 5 November 2014
