Robin Walker
|
This article is part of the Lobbying Portal, a sunlight project from Spinwatch. |
|
This article is part of the Spinwatch public health oriented Alcohol Portal project. |
Robin Walker was elected in the May 2010 general election as MP for Worcester. [1] Walkers father Peter Walker was also Worcester MP between 1961 and 1992 and a member of the Margaret Thatcher's cabinet.[2] Robin Walker was born in 1978 and went on to attended Oxford. Finsbury a PR and lobbying firm were his employers from 2003-2010 where he became a partner. His web site mentions some of the companies he represented "Pilkington plc, a number of major listings on the London Stock Exchange and the successful defence of Rio Tinto from a takeover by BHP Billiton, one of the largest hostile transactions in history." [3] Before standing for parliament himself Walker worked on election campaigns for Stephen Dorrell in 1997, Richard Adams in 2001 and worked for Oliver Letwin when shadow chancellor in 2005. [4] Walker still works for Finsbury on a part time basis. [5]
Controversies
- In October 2011 a joint investigation by The Times and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism discovered that Robin Walker continues to receive £2500 a month form Finsbury where he continues to work. Finsbury represent alcohol industry clients Carlsberg and Mitchells and Butlers. As an MP was lobbying the chancellor George Osborne to ask for a reduction on the duty paid on pints of beer. [6] Walker denies any impropriety he claimed to have been asking the question as part of his work supporting pubs through the All-Party Parliamentary Save the Pub Group and denied working on the Carlsberg or Mitchells and Butlers, Finsbury agreed with his account.[7]
- Furthermore according to the investigation "In February 2011, Walker also tabled an amendment that watered down a backbench bill which proposed imposing a cap on the cost of taking out an unsecured loan. Two months later Finsbury started working on behalf of Wonga, an online lender that charges interest rates of more than 2,600% a year". [8]
References
- ↑ Robin Walker Robin Walker MP, Member of Parliament for Worcester accessed 11th October 2011
- ↑ Melanie Newman, raised over MPs’ conflicts of interests The Bureau Of Investigative Journalism, 1st October 2011, accessed 11th October 2011
- ↑ Robin Walker, Robin Walker MP, Member of Parliament for Worcester accessed 11th October 2011
- ↑ Robin Walker, Robin Walker MP, Member of Parliament for Worcester accessed 11th October 2011
- ↑ Melanie Newman, raised over MPs’ conflicts of interests The Bureau Of Investigative Journalism, 1st October 2011, accessed 11th October 2011
- ↑ Melanie Newman, raised over MPs’ conflicts of interests The Bureau Of Investigative Journalism, 1st October 2011, accessed 11th October 2011
- ↑ Melanie Newman, raised over MPs’ conflicts of interests The Bureau Of Investigative Journalism, 1st October 2011, accessed 11th October 2011
- ↑ Melanie Newman, raised over MPs’ conflicts of interests The Bureau Of Investigative Journalism, 1st October 2011, accessed 11th October 2011
