Penny Mordaunt takes top job advising big tobacco firm
The former Tory MP and leadership contender abstained from a smoking ban vote last Apri
Yesterday
Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward
The former Tory MP and leadership contender abstained from a smoking ban vote last Apri
l
Former Tory MP and ex-minister Penny Mordaunt has taken a top job advising tobacco company British American Tobacco on ‘harm reduction’.
A document published today by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) raises no objections to Mordaunt taking the job, but stipulates that she must not lobby the government for two years.
The document notes that “British American Tobacco has a significant interest in government policy and regulation and has resources focussed on influencing government decisions – for example lobbying for a reduction in taxes for cigarettes, legislation on vaping and the prevention of counterfeit goods.”
However, ACOBA said that Mordaunt did not meet or make policy with British American Tobacco while in office.
Last April, Mordaunt abstained from voting on Rishi Sunak’s policy to make it illegal for anyone born in 2009 or later to buy tobacco products in the UK.
The legislation would have effectively banned smoking for future generations by raising the legal age every year, but was dropped by Sunak before the general election amid a backlash from the tobacco industry.
Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, told the Times that while British American Tobacco “talks up its approach to ‘harm reduction’, in countries where it can promote its cigarettes it does.
“The British public do not trust tobacco companies and I doubt they will be impressed by a former politician providing it highly-paid advice.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
Former Tory MP and ex-minister Penny Mordaunt has taken a top job advising tobacco company British American Tobacco on ‘harm reduction’.
A document published today by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) raises no objections to Mordaunt taking the job, but stipulates that she must not lobby the government for two years.
The document notes that “British American Tobacco has a significant interest in government policy and regulation and has resources focussed on influencing government decisions – for example lobbying for a reduction in taxes for cigarettes, legislation on vaping and the prevention of counterfeit goods.”
However, ACOBA said that Mordaunt did not meet or make policy with British American Tobacco while in office.
Last April, Mordaunt abstained from voting on Rishi Sunak’s policy to make it illegal for anyone born in 2009 or later to buy tobacco products in the UK.
The legislation would have effectively banned smoking for future generations by raising the legal age every year, but was dropped by Sunak before the general election amid a backlash from the tobacco industry.
Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, told the Times that while British American Tobacco “talks up its approach to ‘harm reduction’, in countries where it can promote its cigarettes it does.
“The British public do not trust tobacco companies and I doubt they will be impressed by a former politician providing it highly-paid advice.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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