Summary of business appointments applications - Rt Hon Owen Paterson
Published 11 August 2015
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Rt Hon Owen Paterson left his role as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in July 2014.
1. Consultant, Randox Laboratories Ltd
The Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP asked for the Committee’s advice about taking up a part-time, paid appointment with Randox Laboratories Ltd, having left Government in July 2014. The Committee considered that fact that Mr Paterson’s contact with Randox began when he was Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and then as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland,in the context of the debate about the devolution of responsibility for corporation tax to the Northern Ireland Assembly. This involved making a range of contacts with businesses across Northern Ireland during which he met and visited Randox.
Mr Paterson was Secretary of State at Defra from 2012-2014, in which capacity he stated that he did not have any official dealings with Randox, or its parent company. Since leaving Defra in 2014 he was invited back to Northern Ireland to become involved in the corporation tax campaign and met Randox again.
Mr Paterson is not aware of any relationship, either contractual or non contractual between Randox and his former departments. Although Randox will have engagement with government in pursuit of its business, he has informed us that it will not be part of his role with the company to be involved in such engagement.
The Committee advised Mr Paterson that it saw no reason why he should not take up the appointment, subject to the conditions that:
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he should not draw on privileged information available to him from his time in Government; and
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for two years from his last day in ministerial office, he should not become personally involved in lobbying UK Government on behalf of his new employer, its parent companies, subsidiaries or its clients.
The Committee wrote its advice letter to Mr Paterson in July 2015 and he took up the role in August 2015.