Summary of business appointments applications - Sir John Sawers
Updated 23 June 2016
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/acoba-reccommendation-sir-john-sawers-kcmg-chief-of-the-secret-intelligence-service/summary-of-business-appointments-applications-sir-john-sawers
Sir John Sawers left his role as Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service in November 2014.
1. Non Executive Board Member, BP
Sir John sought advice on accepting an appointment as a Non Executive Member of the Board of BP.
The Foreign Secretary accepted the Committee’s advice that this application be approved, subject to the following conditions:
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A three month waiting period from his last day in Crown service;
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Sir John should not draw on privileged information available to him from his time in Crown service; and
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for two years from his last day of service, Sir John should not become personally involved in lobbying the UK Government on behalf of his new employers, their parent companies or their clients.
The letter containing the final decision was sent in January 2015 and the appointment was announced in May 2015.
2. Chairman, Macro Advisory Partners
Sir John sought advice on accepting an appointment as Chairman of Macro Advisory Partners, an organisation providing investors, corporations and governments with strategic insights.
The Foreign Secretary accepted the Committee’s advice that this application be approved, subject to the following conditions:
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A three month waiting period from his last day in Crown service;
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Sir John should not draw on privileged information available to him from his time in Crown service; and
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for two years from his last day of service, Sir John should not become personally involved in lobbying the UK Government on behalf of his new employers, their parent companies or their clients.
The letter containing the final decision was sent in January 2015 and he took up the role in February 2015.
3. Advisory Board Member, Edelman UK
Sir John Sawers sought the Committee’s advice about taking up an appointment as a member of the Advisory Board of Edelman UK.
Sir John will provide advice to the leadership of Edelman UK on the strategic direction of the company and its interaction with clients. The role will involve no more than 3-4 meetings a year.
When it considered this application, the Committee noted that Sir John had no official contact with Edelman UK during his last two years in Crown service, that he had no official dealings with competitors of his prospective employer and had no access to commercially sensitive information about them. The Committee also took into account that the appointment will not include any contact or dealings with government.
The Foreign Secretary accepted that Committee’s advice that there was no reason why he should not take up this appointment, subject to the conditions that:
- He should not draw on any privileged information available to him from his time in Crown service;
- For two years from his last day in service, he should not become personally involved in lobbying the UK Government on behalf of Edelman.
The final advice was sent in June 2016 and Sir John commenced the appointment later that month.