Luther Pendragon

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Luther Pendragon is a London-based crisis communication and lobbying company and the European affiliate of Nichols-Dezenhall.

Luther Pendragon London offices, 3 Priory Court
Luther Pendragon sign.JPG

Background

Luther Pendragon Brussels offices, Rue d’Arlon 40

According to the Nichols-Dezenhall website, Nichols-Dezenhall "helps manage Luther Pendragon's clients in the U.S., while Luther Pendragon helps Nichols-Dezenhall battle crises in Europe. The affiliation also gives Nichols Dezenhall access to top-flight resources in Germany and Belgium".[1]

In September 2005, PR Week reported that "managing partner Simon Whale and partners Gina Coladangelo, Daniel Guthrie and Amy Kroviak have joined forces to take control from founders George Pitcher and Charles Stewart Smith. The pair started Luther in 1991 and between them own 75 per cent."[2]

In February 2008, it emerged that Luther Pendragon was one of three agencies refusing to join the Association of Professional Political Consultants (APPC), following a committee inquiry chaired by Labour MP Tony Wright. Despite attempting to "make amends" by drawing up its own code of conduct, the controversy surrounding Luther Pendragon's steadfast refusal to register resulted in a representative being called in to give evidence to MPs at the Public Administration Select Committee.[3]

In 2009, Luther Pendragon opened their Brussels office that is headed by former MEP Mark Watts. Explaining new recruits as Oliver Kaye, Mark Simpson, and Rose Montgomery with EP backgrounds, Watts said, "Regulation is now back in fashion in a big way and we know Brussels will be seeking to regulate almost every sector in 2010. Luther is advising clients that 2010 will be the ‘Year of EU Regulation’." He added: "The background of Luther’s new team reflects the post-Lisbon reality. The European Parliament is now the key institution and our understanding of what makes the Parliament tick is second to none."[4]

Controversial clients

Ditched lucrative tobacco client after pressure from health clients

In February 2013 PRWeek reported that:

Luther Pendragon has told healthcare clients that it is no longer working with Philip Morris after a number of them questioned its work with the tobacco firm. [5]

Pro-nuke activity

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From August 2005, the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) has retained Luther Pendragon "to advise on communication issues arising from the third phase of the Committee's public and stakeholder engagement process".

According to CoRWM, "Luther Pendragon has been retained to support the process of consultation which will inform CoRWM's final recommendations, due to be presented to government in 2006. The Luther team will comprise: Adam Lewis, Ben Rich, Mike Granatt, Susie Winter and Aideen Lee.[6]

For more details see the CoRWM page.

Luther sub-contracted to AMEC NNC Not CoRWM

When NuclearSpin sent in an FOI request for all correspondence between CoRWM and its PR company, Luther Pendragon, Defra officials discussed whether the information could be released. See CoRWM section for more details. Initially the officials believed the information could not be released as "our Media Advisors .. are a private sub-contracted company, and any communication/s they hold with CoRWM Members that does not channel via the secretariat (Defra) is held as confidential – between two private parties.”[7] Here was an admission that CoRWM’s PR company was not contracted to CoRWM but to AMEC NNC, a nuclear company. Also look at the CoRWM section to see how it was up to AMEC NNC and Luther as to what information was released rather than Defra officials.

FOI request? - That will be £200 an hour please

When Luther Pendragon was finally asked to provide details of correspondence between the PR company and CoRWM as part of the FOI request, Adam Lewis from Luther replied:

"We estimate that it will take a consultant around 7 hours in total. As per the contract this time is charged at £200 per hour bringing it to a total of £1400."

On receiving this, Adam Scott from CoRWM wrote to a colleague that:

"this is ridiculously expensive, please can you check urgently with defra FOI people whether we have to spend this kind of money as a result of their 'advice.'"

In the end, sources from CoRWM have told NuclearSpin that the money was not paid.[8]

Lobbying for education industry players

Luther Pendragon has lobbied for a number of clients involved in the education industry.

In 2015, these included:


People

Key people

New York

Brussels

June 2015-August 2015

Juliet Arkell | John Blewett | Amelia Bullock-Muir | Alexandra Burr | Jack Colson | Nick Corrin | Sarah Davis | Harriet Dyball | James Foster | Ben Frankel | Alexis Gore | Mike Granatt | Daniel Guthrie | Hamish Hardie | Lauren Hewitt | Oliver Hibberd | Oliver Kaye | Avril Lee | Sam MacAuslan | Maeve McCormack | Beany McLean | William Mutton | Claire Norbury | Daniel Swallow | Adam Thomas | Mariana Wall | Mark Watts | Simon Whale | Edward Wright [11]

March 2015-May 2015

John Blewett | Amelia Bullock-Muir | Alexandra Burr | Jack Colson | Nick Corrin | Sarah Davis | Harriet Dyball | James Foster | Ben Frankel | Alexis Gore | Mike Granatt | Daniel Guthrie | Hamish Hardie | Lauren Hewitt | Oliver Hibberd | Andrew Johnson | Oliver Kaye | Avril Lee | Sam MacAuslan | Maeve McCormack | Beany McLean | William Mutton | Claire Norbury | Daniel Swallow | Adam Thomas | Mariana Wall | Mark Watts | Simon Whale | Oliver Winton | Edward Wright[12]

December 2014-February 2015

John Blewett | Amelia Bullock-Muir | Alexandra Burr | Jack Colson | Nick Corrin | Sarah Davis | Harriet Dyball | James Foster | Ben Frankel | Alexis Gore | Mike Granatt | Daniel Guthrie | Hamish Hardie | Oliver Hibberd | Andrew Johnson | Oliver Kaye | Avril Lee | Sam MacAuslan | Maeve McCormack | Beany McLean | William Mutton | Claire Norbury | Daniel Swallow | Adam Thomas | Mariana Wall | Mark Watts | Simon Whale | Oliver Winton | Edward Wright [13]

September 2014-November 2014

John Blewett | Amelia Bullock-Muir | Alexandra Burr | Jack Colson | Nick Corrin | Sarah Davis | Harriet Dyball | James Foster | Ben Frankel | Alexis Gore | Mike Granatt | Daniel Guthrie | Hamish Hardie | Oliver Hibberd | Andrew Johnson | Oliver Kaye | Avril Lee | Sam MacAuslan | Maeve McCormack | Beany McLean | William Mutton | Claire Norbury | Zoe Rutherford | Daniel Swallow | Adam Thomas | Gina Tress | Mariana Wall | Mark Watts | Simon Whale | Oliver Winton[14]

June 2014-August 2014

John Blewett | Amelia Bullock-Muir | Alexandra Burr | Laura Coleman | Jack Colson | Nick Corrin | Sarah Davis | Harriet Dyball | James Foster | Ben Frankel | Alexis Gore | Amy Gower | Mike Granatt | Daniel Guthrie | Hamish Hardie | Oliver Hibberd | Andrew Johnson | Oliver Kaye | Avril Lee | Sam MacAuslan | Maeve McCormack | Beany McLean | William Mutton | Claire Norbury | Daniel Swallow | Adam Thomas | Gina Tress | Mariana Wall | Mark Watts | Simon Whale | Oliver Winton[15]

March 2014-May 2014

Alison Baird | John Blewett | Stephanie Blott | Amelia Bullock-Muir | Alexandra Burr | Laura Coleman | Jack Colson | Nick Corrin | Harriet Crosthwaite | Sarah Davis | James Foster | Ben Frankel | Alexis Gore | Amy Gower | Mike Granatt | Daniel Guthrie | Hamish Hardiw | Andrew Johnson | Oliver Kaye | Avril Lee | Sam MacAuslan | Maeve McCormack | Beany McLean | Lucy Minshall | William Mutton | Claire Norbury | Daniel Swallow | Adam Thomas | Gina Tress | Mariana Wall | Mark Watts | Simon Whale | Oliver Winton [16]

Former consultants

Clients

APPC lobbying register

June 2015-August 2015

AbbVie | All Party Biomass Group | All Party Group on Intellectual Property | All Party Pharmacy Group | Alliance Against Intellectual Property Theft | Argent Group | BEAMA | British Retail Consortium | Care Quality Commission | CareFusion | Chart and Nautical Instrument Trade Association | Clarion Events | Crest Nicholson | Diocese of London | Diocese of Winchester | Drax Power | Endsleigh | ERA Foundation Ltd | Ernst & Young | Essex County Council | Folk 2 Folk | General Pharmaceutical Council | Genomics England | Health and Care Professions Council | Heating and Hotwater Industry Council | Highgate School | Bristol Institute of Mechanical Engineers | International Schools Partnership | International Seafood Sustainability Foundation | John Lewis Partnership | Kimberley College | Kurdistan Regional Government | McGrove Developments | NHS Maternity Review | Norwood | Octopus Investments | Paradigm Trust | Professional Standards Authority | Public Sector Information Alliance | Racecourse Media Group | Restorative Solutions | Reuben Brothers | Sports Direct | STEM Academy Educational Trust | Syngenta Pensions Trustees | Talarius | The Boeing Company | The Conveyancing Association | The Wrigley Company | TicketusLLP | UKLPG | Visioncare | Wellcome Trust [11]

March 2015-May 2015

AbbVie | All Party Biomass Group | All Party Group on Intellectual Property | All Party Pharmacy Group | Alliance Against Intellectual Property Theft | Argent Group | BEAMA | British Retail Consortium | Care Quality Commission | CareFusion | Chart and Nautical Instrument Trade Association | Clarion Events | Crest Nicholson| Diocese of London | Diocese of Winchester | Downing LLP | Drax Power | Endsleigh | ERA FoundationLtd | Ernst & Young | Essex County Council | General Pharmaceutical Council | Genomics England | Health and Care Professions Council | Heating and Hotwater Industry Council | Highgate School | Bristol Institute of Mechanical Engineers | International Schools Partnership | International Seafood Sustainability Foundation | John Lewis Partnership | Kimberley College | Kurdistan Regional Government | Morden College | Norwood | Octopus Investments | Paradigm Trust | Professional Standards Authority | Public Sector Information Alliance | Racecourse Media Group | Restorative Solutions | Reuben Brothers | Sports Direct | STEM Academy Educational Trust | Syngenta Pensions Trustees | Talarius | The Boeing Company | The Conveyancing Association | The Wrigley Company | Ticketus LLP | Tudor Pickering | Holt UKLPG | Wellcome Trust [12]

December 2014-February 2015

AbbVie | Accenture | Air Products All Party Biomass Group | All Party Group on Intellectual Property | All Party Pharmacy Group | Alliance Against Intellectual Property Theft Argent Group | Baywater | BEAMA | British Retail Consortium | CareFusion | Carter Ruck | Chart and Nautical Instrument Trade Association | Clarion Events| Crest Nicholson | Diocese of London | Diocese of Winchester | Downing LLP | Drax Power | Endsleigh | ERA FoundationLtd | Ernst & Young | Garrison Developments | General Pharmaceutical Council | Genomics England | Health and Care Professions Council | Heating and Hotwater Industry Council | Highgate School| Independent review in childrens cardiac services, Bristol | Institute of Mechanical Engineers | International Schools Partnership | International Schools Partnership | International Seafood Sustainability Foundation | John Lewis Partnership | Kurdistan Regional Government | Morden College | Octopus Investments | Paradigm Trust | Professional Standards Authority | Public Sector Information | Alliance Racecourse Media Group | Reuben Brothers | STEM Academy Educational Trust | Syngenta Pensions Trustees | Talarius | The Boeing Company | The Conveyancing Association | The Wrigley Company | Ticketus LLP | Tudor Pickering | Holt UKLPG | Wellcome Trust [20]

September 2014-November 2014

AbbVie | Accenture | AFC Energy | Air Products | All Party Biomass Group | All Party Group on Intellectual Property | All Party Pharmacy Group | Alliance Against Intellectual Property Theft | Argent Group | Baywater | BEAMA | British Retail Consortium | CareFusion | Carter Ruck | Chart and Nautical Instrument Trade Association | Clarion Events | Community Resilience | Crest Nicholson | Diocese of London | Diocese of Winchester | Drax Power | Endsleigh | ERA Foundation Ltd | Ernst & Young | Garrison Developments | General Pharmaceutical Council | Genomics England | Health and Care Professions Council | Heating and Hotwater Industry Council | Independent review in childrens cardiac services, Bristol | International Schools Partnership | John Lewis Partnership | Kurdistan Regional Government | Made Up Textile Association | Morden College | Octopus Investments | Paradigm Trust | Professional Standards Authority | Public Sector Information Alliance | Reuben Brothers | STEM Academy Educational Trust | Syngenta Pensions Trustees | Talarius | The Boeing Company | The Conveyancing Association | The Wrigley Company | Ticketus LLP | Tudor Pickering Holt | UKLPG | Wellcome Trust[14]

June 2014-August 2014

AbbVie | AFC Energy | Air Products | All Party Biomass Group | All Party Group on Intellectual Property | All Party Pharmacy Group | Alliance Against Intellectual Property Theft | Argent Group | Baywater | BEAMA | British Retail Consortium | CareFusion | Carter Ruck | Chart and Nautical Instrument Trade Association | Circle Housing | Clarion Events | Community Resilience | Crest Nicholson | Diocese of London | Diocese of Winchester | Drax Power | Endsleigh | ERA Foundation Ltd | Ernst & Young | Garrison Developments | Genomics England | Guide Dogs | Health and Care Professions Council | Heating and Hotwater Industry Council | Independent review in childrens cardiac services, Bristol | International Schools Partnership | John Lewis Partnership | Kurdistan Regional Government | Made Up Textile Association | Octopus Investments | Optical Express | Professional Standards Authority | Public Sector Information Alliance | Rank Group plc | Reuben Brothers | STEM Academy Educational Trust | Talarius | The Boeing Company | The Conveyancing Association | The Wrigley Company | Ticketus LLP | UKLPG | Uniplaces | Wellcome Trust[15]

March 2014-May 2014

AbbVie | AFC Energy | Air Products All Party Biomass Group | All Party Group on Intellectual Property | All Party Pharmacy Group | Alliance Against Intellectual Property Theft | Amiad Filtration Systems | Aquabounty Technologies | Argent Group | BATM Advanced Communications | Baywater | BEAMA Brain Tumour Research | British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy | British Retail Consortium | CareFusion | Carefusion | Chart and Nautical Instrument Trade Association | Church Urban Fund | Circle Housing | Clarion Events | Community Resilience | Crest Nicholson | Diocese of London | Diocese of Winchester | Drax Power | Eco City Vehicles | Endsleigh | ERA Foundation Ltd | Ernst & Young | Garrison Developments | Guide Dogs | Health and Care Professions Council | Heating and Hotwater Industry Council | Institute for Turnaround | International Schools Partnership | John Lewis Partnership | Kurdistan Regional Government | Lightsource | Made Up Textile Association | Marimedia | Nuclear Decommissioning Authority | Octopus Investments | Optical Express | Professional Standards Authority | Public Sector Information Alliance | Rank Group plc | Reuben Brothers | Scientific Games | Shanly Homes | St Marylebone School | STEM Academy | Talarius | Teliti | Boeing Company | Conveyancing Association | The Wrigley Company | Ticketus LLP | UKLPG | Uniplaces | Wolfson Microelectronics [16]

2013

2009

Luther Pendragon listed a small selection of its clients in 2009 as:[22] Alliance Against Intellectual Property Theft | Alliance Boots | All-Party Pharmacy Group | Baxter Healthcare | Boeing | BBC Trust | British Video Association | Cancer Campaigning Group | The Diocese of London | Drax Power | ECDC (European Centre for Disease Control) | John Lewis Partnership | Kurdistan Regional Government | Motion Picture Association | PepsiCo International (UK & Ireland) | The Scout Association

Luther Pendragon lists its clients in 2007 as:[23] Alliance Against Counterfeiting & Piracy | Asset Investment Group | Association of Friendly Societies | Association of Independent Financial Advisors | Aviva | Bank Gesellschaft Berlin | Barclays Stockbrokers | Better Regulation Commission (Cabinet Office) | BG Property | Bloomberg Television | BMG | BNB Resources plc | Bourne Leisure | British Gas | British Phonographic Industry | British Video Association | Broadcasting Policy Group | Brunswick Direct | Business Link for Essex | Cabinet Office | Cable & Wireless | Callahan Associates International | C & J Clark | Centrex | Channel Three News Limited | Citylife | Citywire | Comdaq | Commission for Judicial Appointments | Commission for Racial Equality | Commodity Market Services | Company Chemists Association | Copyright Licensing Agency | Dawsons Solicitors | Department of Culture, Media & Sport | Department of Trade & Industry | dotmusic.com | Dow Jones | Ebiox | Electronic Share Information | EMI | Endsleigh | Energy Saving Trust | Essex County Council | Euronext.LIFFE | FACT | Farnborough International | Financial News | Fine Line | Food Standards Agency | Flamingo Holdings Ltd | Freshfields | Grant Thornton | Granville | Guinness Ireland Group | Head Teachers and Industry | HEDRA | HFC | History Channel | Holocaust Memorial Day (Home Office) | House of Fraser | Hudson Global Resourcing | Huntsman Corporation | iCrunch | Illuminator | IMIWeb | Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys | Integrum | Interactive Investor | Interconnector (UK) | Jarvis Plc | Kimberly-Clark Europe | Land Condition Record | Lawford & Co | Lisbet Rausing Charitable Fund | Lloyd's of London | Make Votes Count | Mammals Trust UK | McDonald's | McGinley Recruitment Services | MCI WorldCom | Morgan Stanley | MSCI | National Grid | National Joint Utilities Group | National Pharmaceutical Association | NHP | North West Water | One 2 One | Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee | Phillips & Drew | Pinsent Curtis | Polygram | Port Greenwich | Powergen | Prudential Corporation | Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | Rathbones | Reuben Brothers | Recruitment and Employment Confederation | Robert Dyas | Rock the Vote | Royal Academy of Arts | Royal London Insurance | Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain | Saville Gordon | Scottish Amicable | Sony | SOLOTEC | South London Partnership | Star Kids | St Luke's | Strategos | Syngenta | TCI International | Telecom Plus | Telewest | The Hinduja Group | The Stationery Office | TNT International | Thomson Directories | Towers Perrin | United Utilities | Urban Catalyst | US West | Valmet | Victoria Climbie Charitable Trust | Victoria Management Services | Vislink | Warner Bros | Westcountry Television | Wimpey | Wrigley | WSP Group

Registrar of consultant lobbyists

The register of consultant lobbyists documents those clients on behalf of whom Luther Pendragon have lobbied government ministers and the firms 2015 listings are as follows:

January - March 2015

Alliance for Intellectual Property | Drax Power | Octopus Investments | The Wrigley Company

April - June 2015

All Party Parliamentary Group for Pharmacy | Alliance for Intellectual Property | Octopus Investments | The Diocese of London | The Wrigley Company

July - September 2015

AbbVie | All Party Parliamentary Group for Pharmacy | Alliance for Intellectual Property | Drax Power | Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) | Octopus Investments | The Wrigley Company

October - December 2015

All Party Parliamentary Group for Pharmacy | Alliance for Intellectual Property | Boeing Defence UK | Drax Power | GAMBICA | Octopus Investments | Talarius[24]

Contact details

Luther Pendragon
Priory Court
Pilgrim Street
London EC4V 6DR
Phone: +44 (0)20 7618 9100 +44 (0)20 7618 9100 +44 (0)20 7618 9100  +44 (0)20 7618 9100  
Fax: +44 (0)20 7329 7301

http://www.luther.co.uk

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Resources

Notes

  1. Nichols Dezenhall, Luther Pendragon, Web Archive 20 December 2003, accessed 11 January 2010.
  2. PR Week, "Luther Pendragon quartet poised for £11m buyout," 09 September 2005, accessed 11 January 2010.
  3. Staff writers, "Lobbying inquiry zooms in on APPC non-members", PR Week UK, 21.02.08, accessed 10.09.10
  4. Public Affairs News, "Luther Pendragon hires ex-EP advisers as it grows Brussels office," Undated, accessed 11 January 2010.
  5. Lyndsey Barber Luther Pendragon no longer working with Philip Morris, 11 February 2013
  6. CoRWM, Luther Pendragon to advise CoRWM, Press Release, 28 July, 2005.
  7. Defra Emails
  8. See emails here
  9. International Schools Partnership raises c£200m from private investors Education Investor, 27 February 2014
  10. Mark Watts European Parliament, accessed 21 January 2015
  11. 11.0 11.1 Luther Pendragon staff, Register Jun15-Aug15, APPC, accessed 12 April 2016
  12. 12.0 12.1 Luther Pendragon staff, Register Mar15-May15, APPC, accessed 12 April 2016
  13. Luther Pendragon staff, Register Dec14-Feb15, APPC, accessed 12 April 2016
  14. 14.0 14.1 Register 1st September 2014 - 30th November 2014 APPC, accessed 21 January 2015
  15. 15.0 15.1 [1] APPC, accessed 16 October 2014
  16. 16.0 16.1 APPC Register for 1st March 2014 - 31st May 2014, accessed September 2014
  17. [2] accessed Sept 2014
  18. [3], accessed Sept 2014
  19. [4], accessed Sept 2014
  20. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Dec14
  21. APPC, Luther Pendragon, APPC Register Entry for 1 September 2012 to 30 November 2012, still published as latest entry on APPC website as of 26 February 2013
  22. Luther Pendragon, Clients, accessed 01 February 2009.
  23. Luther Pendragon, Clients, accessed 01 February 2007.
  24. Luther Pendragon profile 2015, Registrar of lobbying consultants, accessed 8 February 2016