Paul Rudd Drayson, Baron Drayson (born 5 March 1960) is a British businessman, amateur racing driver and Labour politician. He was Minister of Science in the

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was created by the Gordon Brown premiership on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Uni ...

until May 2010, where he replaced

Ian Pearson Ian Phares Pearson (born 5 April 1959) is a British Labour Party politician who was a member of parliament (MP) from 1994 until 2010, representing Dudley West from 1994 until 1997, and then Dudley South from 1997 until his retirement from the ...

. In June 2009 he was additionally appointed as Minister of State for Strategic Defence Acquisition Reform at the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

. After losing his ministerial positions in the General Election 2010 he decided to devote himself totally towards his motorsports company

Drayson Racing Technology Drayson Racing (known as Drayson Racing Technology) was a British motor racing team founded by Paul Drayson to compete in the British GT Championship. Since then the team has run in the American Le Mans Series, Asian Le Mans Series and the 24 H ...

. He is chairman and CEO of Drayson Technologies Ltd.

Early life and career

After attending

St Dunstan's College St Dunstan's College is a coeducation, co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Catford, south-east London, England. It is a registered charity, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference ...

, Drayson graduated from

Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston'' for post-nominals) is a public university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first College of a ...

in Production Engineering, followed in 1986 by a PhD in

robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

. From 1986 to 1991 he was managing director of the Lambourn Food Company. From 1992 to 1998 he was managing director of Justin de Blank Ltd. In 1993 Drayson co-founded PowderJect Pharmaceuticals plc in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

which specialised in the production of

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...

s, and was Chief Executive until 2003 when PowderJect was acquired by Chiron Corp. Between 2001 and 2002, Drayson was the Chairman of the BioIndustry Association. From 2002 to 2005 he was chairman of the fundraising campaign to build a children's hospital at

John Radcliffe Hospital John Radcliffe Hospital (informally known as the JR or the John Radcliffe) is a large tertiary teaching hospital in Oxford, England. It forms part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is named after John Radcliffe (physician) ...

in Oxford. Since 2003, he has been the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the

Said Business School Said can refer to: * Speech, or the act of speaking * Saʽid, a male Arabic given name * Said (honorific), a honorific in Islamic culture * Said, Iran (disambiguation), multiple places in Iran * Port Said, a city in Egypt * Saïd Business Scho ...

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. Drayson is the current president of the Motorsport Industry Association. He is chairman and CEO of Drayson Technologies Ltd near Oxford.

Labour Party

Drayson has been a large contributor to the Labour Party, with

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

reporting in 2005 that he "was made a lord and then the UK defence procurement minister after giving

New Labour New Labour is the political philosophy that dominated the history of the British Labour Party from the mid-late 1990s to 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The term originated in a conference slogan first used by the ...

more than £1m." He donated £100,000 in 2002 before PowderJect Pharmaceuticals plc was awarded a £32 million contract for a smallpox vaccine. He donated £505,000 on 17 June 2004 six weeks after being appointed to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

and a further £500,000 on 21 December 2004.

Government

In May 2005 Drayson replaced Lord Bach as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and

Minister for Defence Procurement Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

and as Government Spokesman for Defence to the

. Drayson's responsibility for defence procurement in the

(MoD) was one of the most high-profile jobs in the MoD. His remit included oversight of the

Defence Procurement Agency The Defence Procurement Agency (DPA), was an Executive Agency of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence responsible for the acquisition of materiel, equipment and services, for the British armed forces. Led by the Chief of Defence Procurement ...

and

Defence Logistics Organisation The Defence Logistics Organisation (DLO) was a key element of the UK Ministry of Defence, responsible for supporting the armed forces throughout the various stages of an operation or exercise; from training, deployment, in-theatre training and ...

. In December 2005 Drayson published a report entitled The

Defence Industrial Strategy The Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) is a United Kingdom government policy which was published as a white paper on 15 December 2005. The purpose of the DIS is stated to be to ensure that the UK Armed Forces are provided with the equipment they req ...

(DIS). On 6 March 2007 Drayson was promoted to

Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support The Minister of State for Defence Procurement and Industry is, as a Minister of State, a mid-level defence minister in the Ministry of Defence of the British Government. The current incumbent of the post, Labour MP Maria Eagle, was appointed in Ju ...

. He oversaw the new

Defence Equipment and Support Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) is a trading entity and joint-defence organisation within the UK Ministry of Defence. It began operating on 2 April 2007, following the merger of the MoD's Defence Procurement Agency and the Defence Logisti ...

Organisation. On 29 June 2007 he also became a Minister of State in the newly created

Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) was a Departments of the United Kingdom Government, United Kingdom government department. The department was created on 28 June 2007 on the disbanding of the Department of Trade ...

, combining this with his role in the Ministry of Defence. He stood down from ministerial responsibilities on 7 November 2007. His official reason for stepping down was his wish to participate in the

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

race, but it has been reported that the actual reasons were being left out of the loop when Prime Minister

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

decided to disband the

Defence Export Services Organisation UK Defence and Security Exports (UKDSE), formerly known as Defence & Security Organisation (DSO) and the Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO), is an organisation within the Department for Business and Trade responsible for helping Britis ...

and equipment budget deficits which would make the follow-up to the DIS largely irrelevant. His job as Defence Procurement Minister was transferred to Lady Taylor. Drayson rejoined the Brown government as Minister of State for Science and Innovation in the

Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was a UK government department created on 28 June 2007 to take over some of the functions of the Department of Education and Skills and of the Department of Trade and Industry. Its h ...

on 3 October 2008 following a cabinet reshuffle.

Sensyne Health

Sensyne Health, floated on the

AIM AIM or Aim may refer to: Computing * AIM alliance, an Apple-IBM-Motorola alliance * AIM (software), AOL Instant Messenger * Fortyfive, a Japanese software development company previously known as AIM Military * Abrams Integrated Management, an ...

in 2018, uses

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

data to provide clinical insights to the pharmaceutical industry. In 2020 Drayson was accused of creating a culture of fear at Sensyne. It had data-sharing agreements with 12

NHS trust An NHS trust is an organisational unit within the National Health Services of England and Wales, generally serving either a geographical area or a specialised function (such as an ambulance service). In any particular location there may be several ...

s, which were given shares in the company. In April 2022 Drayson was ousted as chief executive, shortly after the company's financial report claimed that it would run out of money by February 2022.

Personal life

24 Hours of Le Mans 2010 - Drayson Racing 11

Drayson is married to Elspeth Bellhouse, the daughter of scientist

Brian Bellhouse Brian J. Bellhouse (1 October 1936 – 12 June 2017) was a British academic, engineer, and entrepreneur, the inventor of PowderJect, a needle-free injection system for delivering medications and vaccines. He was also a professor at the Universi ...

. They have five children, and live between homes in London and

Nether Lypiatt Manor Nether Lypiatt Manor is a compact, neo-Classical manor house in the mainly rural parish of Thrupp, near Stroud in Gloucestershire, England. It was formerly the country home of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and is a Grade I listed buil ...

near

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...

in Gloucestershire, purchased for £5.75 million in 2006 from

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

and

Princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

Michael of Kent. Self-described as a "car nut and I'm a Government minister", he has owned an

Aston Martin Vanquish The Aston Martin Vanquish is a grand tourer introduced by British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin in 2001 as a successor to the Aston Martin Virage (1993). The Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, designed by Ian Callum and unveiled at the ...

, his wife an

Aston Martin DB9 The Aston Martin DB9 is a two-door grand tourer car that was produced in Gaydon, Warwickshire, by the British carmaker Aston Martin. It was manufactured as a coupé starting in 2004 and as a convertible known as the Volante from 2005, until th ...

, and his collection includes a

Lotus Elan Lotus Elan is the name of two separate ranges of automobiles produced by Lotus Cars. The first series of cars was produced between 1962 and 1975 as a rear-wheel drive vehicle. The second series was produced between 1989 and 1995 as a front-wheel ...

. He has also raced a

bio-ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the pseudoelement symbol f ...

powered

Aston Martin DBRS9 The Aston Martin DBRS9 was a racing car built by Aston Martin Racing to be a cheaper alternative to the Aston Martin DBR9, both of which are based on the Aston Martin DB9. The DBRS9 was introduced in 2005 and has since been replaced with t ...

GT3-spec

race car Race, RACE or The Race may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

for Barwell Motorsport in the

British GT Championship The British GT Championship is a sports car racing series based predominantly in the United Kingdom. The series was originally created by the British Racing Drivers' Club in 1993 and, for its first two seasons, was known as the National Sports G ...

. He competed in the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...

(ALMS). Drayson was born blind in one eye which, under FIA rules, prevented him from acquiring an international racing licence for participation in the Le Mans 24 Hours. In light of his performance during the 2008 ALMS season and FIA rule changes, he was granted an international licence to allow him the chance of competing in the

2009 24 Hours of Le Mans The 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans () was the 77th Grand Prix of Endurance, an endurance racing (motorsport), endurance auto racing, auto race run over 24 hours. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, and was organised by the Aut ...

. Drayson finished 37th overall and 12th in class at the race. He also competed at the

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

event but failed to finish. Drayson has currently competed in two seasons of the ALMS with a best finish of a win at the 2010 Road America race in a LMP

Lola B09/60 The Lola B08/60 is a Le Mans Prototype built by Lola Cars International. It is the first closed-cockpit sports prototype built by Lola since the 1992 T92/10. It started competition in 2008, with Aston Martin being among the first customers fo ...

. For 2011, Drayson made the switch to the EV Cup, a new championship for electric cars. He will drive a Westfield iRACER.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Honours

Drayson was elevated to the

on 1 June 2004, made a working peer titled Baron Drayson, of

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

in the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (often known by its initialism as RBKC) is an Inner London, Inner London borough with Royal borough, royal status. It is the List of English districts by area, smallest borough in London and the secon ...

. In July 2011, Drayson was elected as

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of The

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senio ...

, the UK's national academy for engineering.

Arms

References

External links

Britain buys up stocks of smallpox vaccine – April 2002Labour claims unravel over vaccine deal – April 2002Driving force, Profile of Lord Drayson FREng, Ingenia, Issue 50, Mar 2012
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Drayson, Paul 1960 births Living people People from Meopham People educated at St Dunstan's College Politicians from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Alumni of Aston University American Le Mans Series drivers British GT Championship drivers English racing drivers Labour Party (UK) donors Labour Party (UK) life peers European Le Mans Series drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Formula E people Asian Le Mans Series drivers Life peers created by Elizabeth II New Labour