Peter Selwyn Gummer, Baron Chadlington FCIPR FIoD FCinstM

FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

(born 24 August 1942) is an English businessman. He is currently President of the

Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. The place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest known record of it is a ...

Conservative constituency association, and is a PR adviser, long-standing supporter and donor to the Conservative Party.

Early life and education

Gummer was born on 24 August 1942 to Selwyn Gummer, a Church of England priest, and his wife Margaret Mason. Gummer has two brothers;

John Gummer, Baron Deben John Selwyn Gummer, Baron Deben, (born 26 November 1939) is a British Conservative Party politician, formerly the Member of Parliament (MP) for Suffolk Coastal and now a member of the House of Lords. He was Conservative Party Chairman from 198 ...

, former

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the Conservative Party, and Mark Selwyn Gummer, a businessman. He was educated at

The King's School, Rochester The King's School, Rochester, is an English independent school in Rochester, Kent. It is a cathedral school and, being part of the foundation of Rochester Cathedral, the Dean of Rochester serves as chair of the school's governing body. The scho ...

before matriculating to

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (1 ...

, where he read

Moral Science Human science (or human sciences in the plural), also known as humanistic social science and moral science (or moral sciences), studies the philosophical, biological, social, and cultural aspects of human life. Human science aims to expand our u ...

and Theology, with the aim of becoming a priest. Reading the works of philosophers such as

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His works ...

led him to change his mind, and after gaining a Bachelor of Arts and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

he instead went into journalism.

Career

While writing for a trade press department Gummer found that he enjoyed the business side of things far more than the journalism, and decided to go into business. After several years working for other companies he founded a

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

(PR) firm called

Shandwick Shandwick ( gd, Seannduaig), a village near Tain in Easter Ross, and is in the Scottish council area of Highland, Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the nor ...

in 1974, serving as its chairman. Within seven years Shandwick was the largest PR company in the United Kingdom, and in 1984 it became

publicly listed A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (lis ...

. In 1998 it was sold to the

Interpublic Group of Companies The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG) is an American publicly traded advertising company. The company consists of five major networks: FCB, IPG Mediabrands, McCann Worldgroup, MullenLowe Group, and Marketing Specialists, as well as a ...

, and is now part of Huntsworth. Initially chairman of Huntsworth, Gummer was appointed chief executive on 25 September 2005 after the resignation of Richard Nichols, the group's previous chief executive. Following falling profits and increasing discontent from shareholders, Gummer left this position in April 2015, instead becoming an executive director, and left the company the following year. As well as his public relations work Gummer is also a non-executive director of

Britax Britax () is a British manufacturer of childcare products including car seats, pushchairs and high chairs. History The company began making automotive safety equipment and accessories in 1938, as well as importing car and motorcycle accessorie ...

, a former director of Halifax and a visiting fellow at the

University of Gloucestershire , mottoeng = In Spirit and Truth , established = , type = Public , endowment = £2.4 m (2015) , chancellor = Rennie Fritchie, Baroness Fritchie , vice_chancellor ...

. He has been made a fellow of the

Chartered Institute of Public Relations The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is a professional body in the United Kingdom for public relations practitioners. Founded as the Institute for Public Relations in 1948, CIPR was awarded Chartered status by the Privy Council o ...

, the

Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors (IoD) is a British professional organisation for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs. It is the UK's longest running organisation for professional leaders, having been founded in 1903 and inco ...

The Chartered Institute of Marketing The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) was founded in 1911. It has over 30,000 members, including more than 3,000 registered Chartered Marketers. CIM offers 130 study centres in 36 countries, and exam centres in 132 countries. In 1952 Prince ...

and the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

. In September 1996 Gummer became Chairman of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

. Following a report by the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee led by

Gerald Kaufman Sir Gerald Bernard Kaufman (21 June 1930 – 26 February 2017) was a British politician and author who served as a minister throughout the Labour government of 1974 to 1979. Elected as a member of parliament (MP) at the 1970 general election, ...

which described the management of the Royal Opera House as "abysmal" with "incompetence, disastrous financial planning and misjudgement", Gummer resigned in December 1997.

Charitable work

From 1999 until 2007, Gummer was a Director of the original Action on Addiction in London, a charity and addiction research center investigating drug and alcohol dependence. He also served on their Board of Trustees. In 2007, the original Action on Addiction (established in 1989) merged with The Chemical Dependency Centre (established in 1985) and Clouds (established in 1987). The single charity, dedicated to the research and treatment of drug and alcohol dependence, took on the name

Action on Addiction Action on Addiction is a UK-based charity that works with people affected by drug and alcohol addiction. It works in the areas of research, prevention, treatment, aftercare, as well as professional education and family support. They have four children. On 16 October 1996, Gummer was created a Conservative

working peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages Ac ...

, with the title of Baron Chadlington, of Dean in the County of Oxfordshire. Gummer is an advisor, neighbour, longstanding friend of politician David Cameron. While prime minister, Cameron attended the wedding of Gummer's daughter Naomi to Henry Allsop, son of

Charles Allsopp, 6th Baron Hindlip Charles Henry Allsopp, 6th Baron Hindlip (born 5 August 1940), is a British peer and businessman, a member of the House of Lords from 1993 until 1999. His main career was in Christie's, the fine arts auction house, in which he was General Manager ...

. Allop's godmother, then

Duchess of Cornwall Duchess of Cornwall is a courtesy title held by the wife of the eldest son and heir of the British monarch. The current title-holder is Catherine, wife of William, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall. Duchesses of Cornwall Until her husband ...

Camilla Parker Bowles Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the ac ...

, and Jeremy Hunt, then Culture Secretary and Naomi's former boss, also attended.

Controversies

Daughter's appointment to Whitehall

In 2010, then

culture secretary The secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the Department ...

Jeremy Hunt Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Exchequer since 14 October 2022. He previously served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Spor ...

gave Chadlington's daughter, Naomi, a civil service post in the

Department for Culture, Media and Sport , type = Department , logo = Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport logo.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Gove ...

(DCMS). Doing so was considered by people in Whitehall as "highly unusual" and "not normal" and Hunt was criticized for giving the role to a close business associate (between 2000 and 2004, Chadlington was director of

Hotcourses The Hotcourses Group was the public name for Hotcourses Ltd, an educational guidance company based in Fulham and the world's largest course database. In January 2017, Hotcourses Group was bought by IDP Education and was rebranded as IDP Connect in ...

, a company Hunt founded), a major donor to the Tory party (having given more than £77,000 to the Tories between 2005 and 2010), and one of prime minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

's political allies (as president of Witney Conservative association, Cameron's constituency, Chadlington was a major supporter of Cameron's campaign to become Tory leader in 2005). The appointment came weeks after the government announced there would be a freeze on hiring in the civil service.

Mark Serwotka Mark Henryk Serwotka (; born 26 April 1963) is General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), the largest trade union representing British civil servants. He was President of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) for 2019. Early ...

, the leader of the PCS union, which represents civil servants, questioned whether the appointment was made because of "nepotism and privilege".

Sale of land to the prime minister

In 2011, Chadlington sold land to the then prime minister David Cameron. The previous year, Chadlington had bought a property adjoining Cameron's constituency home and the property remained empty. Chadlington then sold land to the prime minster for £137,000, the market rate plus extra to allow for the increase in value the land would bring to Cameron's home. The newly bought land increased the value of Cameron's property by approximately £250,000. In the opinion of Sir

Alistair Graham Sir John Alistair Graham (born 6 August 1942) is a British trade unionist who was Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life from 2003 until April 2007. He was born in Northumberland, and was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Ne ...

, former chairman of the Committee of Standards in Public Life, Cameron should have declared the transaction parliament's registry of interest as Chadlington was the head of one of the largest lobbying firms in the country. The year before the transaction, Cameron's government had pledged to crack down on lobbying, with Cameron making a speech that it was time to shine "the light of transparency onto lobbying in our country" and force "our politics to come clean about who is buying power and influence".

Downing Street Downing Street is a street in Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Situated off Whitehall, it is long, and a few minutes' walk ...

said there was no need for the sale to be listed in the registry of interests because there was a land registry record from the transaction that already put it into the public public domain.

UK-China investment fund

In 2017, David Cameron lobbied the Chinese government on behalf of Chadlington in order to establish a £500 million private investment fund. Chadlington, the main driver behind the fund, had been working on the fund for three years and travelled to China with Cameron, where the former prime minister met with

Ma Kai Ma Kai (; pinyin: ''Mǎ Kǎi''; born June 1946 in Shanghai) was one of the four Vice Premiers of China (Fourth-ranked). He was formerly a State Councilor and Secretary General of the State Council of China. Biography Ma Kai was born in Jinsha ...

, a Chinese vice-premier who headed Beijing's finance ministry, to discuss the proposal. Cameron had also lobbied the then British

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Philip Hammond Philip Hammond, Baron Hammond of Runnymede (born 4 December 1955) is a British politician and life peer who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2016 to 2019, Foreign Secretary from 2014 to 2016, and Defence Secretary from 2011 to 2014. ...

, about setting up the fund. Cameron's meetings with Ma and Hammond did not break any parliamentary rules and did not have to be cleared with the

Advisory Committee on Business Appointments The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, which was set up in 1975 to provide advice on applications from the most senior Crown servants who wish to take up outside appointments ...

because the fund had not yet been set up. They did, however, raise questions about the robustness of parliamentary lobbying rules, which usually ban former ministers from lobbying for two years, with

Peter Dowd Peter Christopher Dowd (born 20 June 1957) is a British Labour Party politician. He was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bootle in May 2015. From 2017 to 2020, he served as the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Early life ...

, then

shadow chief secretary to the Treasury The Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury is the most junior member of the Shadow Cabinet, and is the deputy to the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury acts as the primary opposition to the equivalent G ...

, commenting, "it appears the former prime minister's status and personal relationships have allowed him ministerial contact without having to go through adequate motions of transparency".

Covid-19 PPE contact

In 2020, Chadlington gave SG Recruitment chief executive and owner David Sumner the email address of Lord Andrew Feldman, who was advisor to the

Department of Health and Social Care The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwis ...

during the early stages of the government response to the covid-19 pandemic. Feldman referred the company, which recruited nurses for the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

from countries overseas, to the "VIP lane" that gave priority to politically connected firms offering

personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, ele ...

(PPE). SG Recruitment (later renamed Sumner Group Health Limited) was awarded two government contracts, worth £50 million, to supply PPE. Chadlington was a director and shareholder of SG Recruitment's parent company, Sumner Group Holdings. In January 2022, following a challenge from the

Good Law Project The Good Law Project is a United Kingdom-based political non-profit company. Founded by Jolyon Maugham, the Good Law Project states that its mission is to achieve change through the law. History The Good Law Project was founded in January 2017 as ...

, the "VIP lane" was ruled unlawful as it gave unequal treatment to companies by the government. In May 2022, the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in ...

standards committee announced an investigation into Chadlington for "alleged involvement in procuring contracts for SG Recruitment UK", leading to potential breaches of two rules in peers' code of conduct: that peers must not accept or agree to accept "payment or other incentive or reward in return for providing parliamentary advice or services", and that peers "must not seek by parliamentary means to confer exclusive benefit" on a company in which they have a financial interest. In July 2022, Chadlington was cleared of lobbying for the contracts as he had not directly approached the government about SG Recruitment. Following the ruling, the Labour party called for a review of the Lords watchdog's rules.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gummer, Peter 1942 births Living people British businesspeople

Chadlington Chadlington is a village and civil parish in the Evenlode Valley about south of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The village has five neighbourhoods: Brookend, Eastend, Greenend, Millend and Westend. Archaeology There is a bowl barrow about we ...

Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge People educated at King's School, Rochester