Slap on wrist is just the job for Brexit row Tory
RICHARD Harrington, the former Tory Business Minister, is about to have his gilded knuckles rapped by the appointments watchdog after taking a new role in a global public affairs firm, I can reveal.
The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) confirms he breached a transparency rule in the Ministerial Code requiring all former Ministers to seek its advice before they begin a job within two years of leaving government. Harrington, 63, held several ministerial posts before stepping down in December 2019 as MP for Watford after nine years, following a spat over Brexit with Theresa May and Boris Johnson.
Talking of rows, Harrington last year tried to stop reporting of his £20 million divorce settlement with ex-wife Jessica. She wanted a little over half – the judge gave them an equal share after branding Harrington ‘evasive’ over his financial interests and criticising a ‘very casual attitude to his disclosure requirements’.
As an MP, Harrington lobbied then Chancellor George Osborne for an extension of a rail line in his constituency that was likely to benefit a business park in which he had invested. Harrington’s new career with APCO seemed natural for a man who founded the ‘No 10 club’, where Tory donors socialised with senior politicians in exchange for a £10,000 annual membership.
After months as a senior adviser, Harrington was recently promoted to APCO’s UK chairman. The lobbyists said his ‘in-depth knowledge of industry and government make him an extremely valuable resource for our clients as they navigate postBrexit Britain’. ACOBA has asked Harrington for an explanation.
Last night, Harrington apologised for not waiting for the watchdog’s approval.
Writing letters is the only power the watchdog has, so perhaps it’s time to review the rules on ministerial jobs and sanction those in the chumocracy who break them.