David Lammy appoints campaign donor to Foreign Office board
Karen Blackett donated £5,000 to support David Lammy's office in the run-up to the general election last year.
Lammy appointed her as one of four non-executive directors on the Foreign Office's supervisory board last month.
Blackett will be paid up to £15,000 a year for the role, for what is typically a commitment of 20 days a year for three years.
The board, which also includes all the department's ministers and four of its most senior civil servants, provides 'strategic direction, oversight, support and challenge for the department with a view to the long-term health, reputation and success of the FCDO.'
Blackett, 53, was the president of WPP, the world's biggest advertising company, between 2022 and last year. She previously held a dual role as both country manager and UK chief executive of GroupM, WPP's media investment business.
She also held several roles advising government, including acting as an external adviser to the Cabinet Office on diversifying the civil service, a non-executive seat on the board of Creative England and as an ambassador for the Department of International Trade.
It is understood that Blackett underwent all the required vetting for the role. The governance code on public appointments is clear that political activity should not be a bar to appointment.
WPP came under fire from climate campaigners for representing several large oil and gas companies. Carla Denyer, co-leader of the Green Party, told the Democracy for Sale blog, which first reported the appointment: 'Lammy has serious questions to answer about how Blackett came to be appointed and whether any assessment was done of how her previous job … might conflict with the Foreign Office's role in tackling the climate crisis.'
A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'Karen Blackett was appointed as part of a fair and open public recruitment campaign which fully adhered to the governance code on public appointments, including due diligence of candidates in advance of interviews. The panel, comprised of FCDO officials and independent members, judged her appointable to the role.'
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