Foresight Communications
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Political connections
Foresight is run by Mark Adams OBE, who was a private secretary for parliamentary affairs at No. 10 for nearly four years. He also worked as private secretary to Tony Blair for six months after the 1997 election. [1]
Other members of Foresight's team include Patrick Nicholls, who was the Tory MP for Teignmouth for nearly a decade; Jenny Ungless, the ex-Chief of Staff to Iain Duncan Smith; Sarah Pearce, who worked in the Private Office of the Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Jack Straw MP; and Chris Savage, who was head of industrial policy in the Economic Department of the Trades Union Congress where he worked closely with Labour Ministers and advisers. Foresight communications is a small boutique PR agency which, judging by the previous jobs of its staff, trades on its connections with the world of politics. [2]
Foresight's office in Shafetsbury Avenue suggests that it prefers a certain anonymity. It is not listed as occupying the office in the reception and reception staff will not reveal it is there unless it is asked for by name. So here you have a small PR company with intricate links to the hiararchy of Labour, Tories, and the Unions.
Launching front groups
In 2001, Foresight helped launch the corporate front group the Scientific Alliance with Richard Durward.[3] The original contact for the Alliance is Richard Durward who is also the director of Foresight client the British Aggregates Association (BAA). [4] [5]
Foresight's other clients include the New Party for Britain (also known as the People's Alliance). The New Party is so right-wing that the Tory leader in Scotland, where it operates, called it 'fascist and undemocratic'. Like the Scientific Alliance, this 'People's Alliance', was established by Durward and Adams.
Scientific Alliance
The Scientific Alliance is anti-environmental, anti-organic and pro-GM. It is also pro-nuclear and dismisses climate change. [6] [7]
It runs conferences along with other corporate front groups. In November 2002 it organised a conference on GM called Fields of the Future. The conference chairman was Lord Dick Taverne of the front organisation Sense about Science, and Tracey Brown of Sense about Science helped to find speakers for the event. This is yet another corporate front organsiation.
Pro nuclear activities
At the recent Labour Party Conference, the Alliance held a pro-nuclear meeting with the Nuclear Industry Association. [8]
Advisory board
The Scientific Alliance's Advisory Board is interesting and includes pro-biotech scientists such as Anthony Trewavas; ex-living Marxists Bill Durodie of King's College London; Martin Livermore, Independent Science Communications Advisor and ex-Du Pont; Professor Vivian Moses, head of pro-biotech organisation [[Cropgen]; Professor Michael Wilson, Horticulture Research International - advisor to Lord Sainsbury's company Diatech; and one of the world's leading climate sceptics - Sallie Baliunas. [9]
Look at the links:
- Martin Livermore is also a Fellow of the International Policy Network.
- Vivian Moses and Michael Wilson are also part of Sense About Science, Moses, Cropgen and therefore linked to Lexington Communications
- Dr. Sallie Baliunas is George C Marshall Institute Senior Scientist, but also has been or is associated with Global Climate Coalition, the right-wing Hoover Institution, ESEF, Annapolis Center, and the American Enterprise Institute. Also the Wise Use group the Committee for A Constructive Tomorrow and Tech Central Station.
employing ministers
- A FORMER defence minister has been criticised by a Whitehall vetting committee for accepting a job as a defence industry lobbyist without seeking official permission. Ivor Caplin, who stood down at the last election, has taken lobbying jobs with two companies — Foresight Communications and MBDA Missile Systems — in breach of the ministerial code.
- Foresight, run by Mark Adams, Tony Blair’s former private secretary, represents the £20 billion Eurofighter jet project and MBDA is an American missile company.
- Former ministers are expected to inform Whitehall’s advisory committee on business appointments before accepting such employment offers. Section 5.29 of the ministerial code states: “On leaving office, ministers should seek advice from the . . . committee . . . about any appointments they wish to take up within two years of leaving office.”
- The committee has criticised Caplin for accepting the appointments without seeking its advice... The committee, which was set up by John Major, the former Tory prime minister, and is now chaired by Lord Mayhew, has now demanded that Caplin does not “become personally involved in lobbying ministers or officials for 12 months”. [10]
clients
Foresight claims the following as past or present clients (as at October 2004): [11]
- Association of British Insurers
- Beatbullying
- British Aggregates Association
- Business Services Association
- Cheetah Medical Inc
- Citizen Communication
- East England Arts
- EcoGen Developments
- EDS
- Elmo-Tech
- Energis
- Lufthansa Technik
- New Party for Britain / People's Alliance
- Nord Anglia
- Perfiliate Technologies
- Scientific Alliance
- Sodexho
- Summerleaze
- Thames Water
- Unimatic Engineers
Its APPC entry for Dec 03-May 04 lists the following as clients: [12]
- Association of British Insurers
- Beatbullying
- British Aggregates Association
- EADS
- Elmo-Tech
- EOS
- Energis
- Scientific Alliance
- Summerleaze
- Thames Water
External Resources
Notes
- ^ Foresight Communications - 'About us' and 'People - Mark Adams', undated, accessed March 2006.
- ^ Foresight Communications - 'People', undated, accessed March 2006.
- ^Gethin Chamberlian, "The rich recluse masterminding Britain's new party". The Scotsman, January 22, 2003
- ^ Foresight Communications - 'Clients', undated, accessed March 2006.
- ^ Andrew Rowell, 'Hard rockers', The Guardian, 11 July, 2001
- ^ Hamish Macdonell, 'Mystery party to contest elections', The Scotsman, 13 January 2003
- ^ Ollie Stone-Lee, 'New party pledges direct democracy', BBC News website, 14 March, 2003
- ^ K. Parker Email Re: Agreement with Scientific Alliance (pdf), 28 July, 2004.
- ^ Scientific Alliance advisory board, undated, accessed March 2006.
- ^ Robert Winnet Ex-minister ignored rule and took job as lobbyist The Sunday Times, June 04, 2006.
- ^ Foresight Communications - 'Clients', undated, accessed March 2006.
- ^ Foresight Communications UK Staff and clients 30.11.03-31.05.04