Philip Hammond (MP)
This page is about Philip Hammond, the Conservative MP. He is not to be confused with Philip Hammond, the author and academic.
Philip Hammond was appointed UK Foreign Secretary on 15 July 2014.[1]. He has been the Conservative Party MP for Runnymede and Weybridge since 1997. [2]
The 2015 general election proved successful for Hammond who retained his seat with a majority of 22,134, [3] and was reappointed foreign secretary. [4]
Contents
Background
He was previously Secretary of State for Transport from May 2010, when he was appointed as a Privy Counsellor. Before this, he held a number of shadow portfolios. He was elected to Parliament in 1997 and was appointed Secretary of State for Defence in 2011. [5]
According to a Ministry of Defence bio:
- Mr Hammond was raised in Essex, attending school in Brentwood before going on to read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at University College, Oxford. Prior to his election to the House in 1997, he followed a business career in small and medium-sized companies in manufacturing, consultancy, property and construction and oil and gas, both in the UK and abroad.[6]
Cameron Government
Hammond was appointed the Secretary of State for Transport in the incoming Conservative Government in May 2010.[7] He was appointed Defence Secretary on 14 October 2011 following the resignation of Liam Fox.[8] He was appointed Foreign Secretary, replacing William Hague, in July 2014.[1]
Dinner with lobbyists
Black and White Ball 2014
A seating plan of the Conservative Party's Black and White Ball, in February 2014, was leaked to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in October 2014. The party, which guests pay between £450 and £1000 for a ticket, seats diners with the minister most relevant to them. Listed as being on Hammond's table was Kevin Lomax, who is chairman of two companies, including Ipsotek. [9]
Details of the Conservative's 2013 summer ball, where tickets cost up to £12,000 each, were also leaked. It revealed Hammond shared a table, paid for by Lord Clanwilliam, a PR adviser who works for the government of Bahrain, with Afnan Al-Shuaiby, the head of the Arab British Chamber of Commerce.[10]
The Black and White Ball 2015
On 9 February 2015, Hammond attended the Conservative Party's 'Black and White Ball' election fundraiser at the Grosvenor Hotel in London. The event was attended by almost the entire Cabinet, Boris Johnson and George Osborne did not attend due to the G20 event, and by party donors including; hedge fund boss Stanley Fink (Lord Fink), who wants Britain to rival offshore tax havens with an equally generous tax regime; founder of Lycamobile, who paid no corporation tax between 2007 and 2014 despite generating millions in revenue, Subaskaran Allirajah; jewellery tycoon Ranbir Singh Suri and lap dancing club owner Peter Stringfellow.
One Tory donor told the Guardian he had been told if he bought a 'premium table at the event for £15,000 he would expect the company of a cabinet minister' and if 'he paid £5,000 for a standard table, he would expect a junior minister'.
To raise additional money at the event, the Party sold one off prizes. These included, shoe shopping with Theresa May, a meal at the Carlton Club with Sajid Javid, dinner at home with Michael Gove and a session of jogging with Nicky Morgan.[11]
Staff
- Hayden Allen - Special adviser, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
- Hannah Edwards
- Lucy Oliver [12]
Special advisers
- Graham Hook - January 2012
- Hayden Allan - July 2014
- Duncan McCourt - January 2015
Former
- Denzil Davidson - July 2014 - May 2015. Former special adviser to William Hague
External resources
- Kim Sengupta, Hammond linked to millionaire backer behind Fox's charity, Independent, 17 October 2011.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ministerial appointments: July 2014, Prime Minister's Office, 15 July 2014.
- ↑ Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP www.parliament.uk, accessed 14 May 2015
- ↑ Election 2015: Tory Philip Hammond 'delighted' to retain Runnymede & Weybridge seat getSurrey, 7 May 2015, accessed 14 May 2015
- ↑ Philip Hammond stays on as Foreign Secretary ITV News, 8 May 2015, accessed 14 May 2015
- ↑ The Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP GOV.UK, accessed 1 October 2014
- ↑ Philip Hammond announced as new Defence Secretary, Ministry of Defence, 14 October 2011.
- ↑ Her Majesty’s Government, Number10.gov.uk, accessed 12 May 2010.
- ↑ Philip Hammond announced as new Defence Secretary, Ministry of Defence, 14 October 2011.
- ↑ Melanie Newman, Nick Mathiason and Tom Warren Doorstep lender and property moguls amongst guests worth £22bn at Tory fundraiser Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 12 October 2014, accessed 14 October 2014
- ↑ Robert Booth, Nick Mathiason, Luke Harding and Melanie Newman Tory summer party drew super-rich supporters with total wealth of £11bn The Guardian, 3 July 2014, accessed 14 October 2014
- ↑ Rajeev Syal and Rowena Mason Conservative donors pay up to £15,000 for table at election fundraiser The Guardian, 9 February 2015, accessed 11 February 2015
- ↑ Register of interests of members' secretaries and research assistants, 23 March 2016, parliament.uk, accessed 20 April 2016
