It’s my spare time Mayor defends new role with TV company

It’s my spare time. If I chose to do bricklaying in my spare time, that would be fine too

Mayor Marvin Rees

MAYOR Marvin Rees has defended taking on a new job at a Bristol-based TV production company and insists he is doing it in his spare time.

The city mayor says it would be no different than if he decided to take up bricklaying or skateboarding.

As the Post reported previously, Mr Rees has joined the board at Plimsoll Productions, a major global natural history filmmaker, on top of his role leading Bristol.

He has come under fire for the decision, with critics claiming it could create a conflict of interests with his position in charge of Bristol City Council and branding it “either an astounding error of judgement or a demonstration of arrogant aloofness”.

But the mayor insisted that joining the TV firm’s board and providing “strategic advice” to chief executive Grant Mansfield was “all above board”.

He said: “It’s what I do in my spare time and that’s OK.

“I do a lot of hours as mayor. I’m in the office most days by 7.30am and often don’t leave until 7pm. If I’m up at 10.30pm reading something in my own time then that’s what I do with that spare time.

“It’s also worth noting it’s a Bristol business, it wins investment for Bristol, provides jobs for Bristol people and they’re trying to break into areas in which I can support that and that’s good for the city.”

He denied the role created a conflict of interests because Plimsoll did not have dealings with the city council.

“It’s a media company primarily working overseas with Netflix and Apple TV,” Mr Rees said.

“I support lots of Bristol businesses all the time. When I go to Euro cities I sit on many boards, be it the Local Government Association, the Work Foundation or the Archbishop of Canturbury’s Housing Commission.

“I sit in lots of places with the aim of supporting the city and winning investment for Bristol, but it’s my spare time. If I chose to do bricklaying in my spare time, that would be fine too. If I chose to skateboard in my spare time, that would be fine too, as long as I’m getting my job done.

“The more pressing conversation is with the family, to be honest.”

He dismissed the criticism as the usual attempts to “chuck sand in the gears” to try to create controversy in Bristol and that his predecessor, George Ferguson, also held outside positions and “wasn’t necessarily questioned” about those.

“We checked it with the monitoring officers and it’s all above board,” he said.

He said he was focused on the real issues in Bristol such as families falling into destitution, firms going bust, Brexit preparations, domestic violence, mental health, building homes and major infrastructure works.

It is understood Mr Rees’s role at Plimsoll is paid, although it is not known how much, and that he will stand for reelection as the Labour candidate for city mayor in May.