Latest news with #Heaton-Harris
Belfast Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
Former NI Secretary of State ‘thrilled' with new job away from politics
Mr Heaton-Harris first entered politics when he became a member of the European Parliament in 1999. A self-described 'fierce Eurosceptic', he served in Brussels before standing down in 2009. The following year he entered the House of Commons in what was his third attempt to win a seat. He served for a time as the Government's chief whip, Minister of State for Transport and Minister of State for Europe. Mr Heaton-Harris also chaired the European Research Group, a Eurosceptic group of Conservative MPs. He garnered controversy in 2017 when he wrote to UK universities, asking for the names of professors who taught courses on Brexit. When Liz Truss became Prime Minister in September 2022, the MP for Daventry was elevated to the post of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, a role he retained under Rishi Sunak when he entered 10 Downing Street in October 2022. The post has long be seen as one of the less glamorous Cabinet positions. Mr Heaton-Harris was not without his critics during his time as Northern Ireland Secretary, with much of his tenure covering a period when the Executive was down. He was frequently accused of kicking the can down the road when it came to efforts to get Stormont back up and running, calling an election, and cutting MLA pay. He chose not to stand for re-election in last July's General Election and, since leaving office, launched Oak Communications, a consultancy firm offering 'straightforward insight in a changing world'. It is understood Mr Heaton-Harris, a licensed football referee, also unsuccessfully applied to chair the new Independent Football Regulator in November 2024. Now the former MP has added another job to his CV by joining M2 Recovery as a senior advisor. According to the company's website, the firm's team 'comprises seasoned professionals with decades of combined experience in cybersecurity, blockchain technology, and financial services'. 'Collectively, we have many decades of experience working with the highest-profile clients on the most complex cases involving insurance, crypto asset recoveries, and crypto legal expenses insurance,' the website reads. Mr Heaton-Harris said he was 'thrilled' to join the firm. 'In my years as an MP, I dealt with many constituents devastated by the impact of fraud and witnessed the evolution of digital threats facing consumers,' he said. 'M2 Recovery's pioneering approach to restoring trust in the crypto space is exactly what this moment demands and I'm excited to be contributing to the company's rapid growth and continued success.' Neil Holloway, founder of M2 Recovery, said: 'Chris's unparalleled governance experience, from challenging financial malfeasance in Europe to steering critical political negotiations, aligns perfectly with our ethos of accountability. 'This will strengthen our ability to protect victims of increasingly personalised crypto scams, ensuring M2 Recovery remains at the vanguard of this vital sector.'
New European
19-03-2025
- Politics
- New European
Another Tory ex-minister joins the consultancy bandwagon
A common career move for MPs after losing their seats is to turn to consultancy. Their expertise in government and parliamentary procedures, so the spiel goes, makes their minds valuable to tap for companies eager for an insight into thinking at the top (and, they don't say quite so loudly, their parliamentary passes-for-life give them ready access to what remains of their former colleagues). A lot of Conservative MPs found themselves without a job after last year's general election. Last October we reported how self-styled 'Brexit hardman' Steve Baker had, alongside Paul Dolan – an academic with a penchant for dressing as a member of a 1990s techno outfit – launched 'The Provocation People', a body which 'can help you transform your decision-making by systematically dismantling groupthink'. Baker and Dolan are listed on the site as its 'Chief Provocation Officers'. Now one of Baker's fellow hardline Brexiteers has followed suit. Chris Heaton-Harris was a short-lived chief whip under Boris Johnson and Northern Ireland secretary under both the Liz Truss interregnum and Rishi Sunak. New European readers may remember how, in 2017 Heaton-Harris, a then lowly Tory whip, wrote to university vice-chancellors across the UK asking for the names of any professors involved in teaching European affairs 'with particular reference to Brexit'. In his letter, he asked for 'a copy of the syllabus' and any online lectures on Brexit. After being accused of 'McCarthyite' tactics by academics who said it was an assault on free speech Heaton-Harris was defended by colleagues who said it was, in fact, research for a book he was writing (eight years on, the work has yet to see the light of day). Now there's even less time for wordsmithery as Heaton-Harris has launched Oak Communications, a consultancy offering 'straightforward insight in a changing world'. It is, it says, 'dedicated to providing comprehensive insight to companies looking to navigate and surf the oncoming waves of change breaking over the UK and EU economic and political landscapes'. Heaton-Harris's partner in this exciting new endeavour is Gawain Towler, the long-time Nigel Farage spinner given the heave-ho by Reform last September as Farage sought to professionalise the party's communications. Towler is, though, still listed as the media contact on the website of the long-dormant Museum of Brexit, a planned tourist attraction in hibernation so long one of the trustees highlighted on its homepage is Nigel Lawson, who died almost exactly two years ago. Don't all rush at once for the insights of this dynamic duo!
