The Right Honourable
The Lord Bethell
Official portrait, 2022
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Innovation
In office
9 March 2020 – 17 September 2021
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byThe Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
Succeeded byThe Lord Kamall
Lord-in-waiting
Government Whip
In office
24 July 2019 – 9 March 2020
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byThe Viscount Younger of Leckie
Succeeded byThe Baroness Penn
Member of the House of Lords
as an elected hereditary peer
19 July 2018
Preceded byThe 3rd Lord Glentoran
Personal details
Born
James Nicholas Bethell

(1967-10-01) 1 October 1967
Political partyConservative
EducationHarrow School
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh

James Nicholas Bethell, 5th Baron Bethell (born 1 October 1967) is a British hereditary peer and Conservative politician in the House of Lords.[1] During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Innovation at the Department of Health and Social Care and was involved in negotiating various controversial contracts.

Early life

Bethell was educated at the independent, fee-paying Harrow School before going on to study for a Scottish Master of Arts (an undergraduate degree) at the University of Edinburgh.[2]

Bethell worked as a journalist, and then managed the Ministry of Sound nightclub, before founding Westbourne Communications which he sold to Cicero Group after succeeding to his family titles.[3]

Political career

Bethell unsuccessfully contested election to the House of Commons for the Tooting constituency in the 2005 general election, losing to Labour candidate and future Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

Bethell contested the 2009 primary to become the Conservative Party's prospective parliamentary candidate for the constituency of Gosport. He came second behind Caroline Dinenage, who went on to become the Member of Parliament in the 2010 general election.[4]

House of Lords

Bethell entered the House of Lords in July 2018, after successfully contesting a Conservative hereditary peers' by-election.[5]

In July 2019, he was appointed a Lord-in-Waiting and, in March 2020, was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Innovation at the Department of Health and Social Care in the second Johnson ministry.[1][6]

The Times reported in November 2020 that Bethell is the Minister for NHS Test and Trace, a novelty formed as part of the Johnson ministry's efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic. He "was a surprise appointment in March having chaired Matt Hancock's leadership campaign in 2019 and giving [him] a £5,000 donation."[7] He opened himself to charges of "cronyism" published in The Guardian over his selection to an advisory role of lobbyists like George Pascoe-Watson, whose clients include the Boston Consulting Group "which has won several large government contracts during the pandemic."[8]

In July 2021, Bethell was placed under investigation by the House of Lords Commissioner for Standards over a "complaint regarding Lord Bethell sponsoring a pass for Gina Coladangelo", who was a lobbyist and lover of the then Health secretary Matt Hancock.[9]

In August 2021, it was revealed that Bethell had replaced his mobile phone earlier that year and not transferred data from his previous phone, meaning that it could not be searched for messages related to an £85m contract with Abingdon Health that was subject to judicial review.[10] In November 2021 he stated in a witness statement that three prior explanations he had given for why he could not access his messages - that he lost his phone, that his phone was defective and that he had given it to a relative - were incorrect and that he had deleted them because he incorrectly thought they were backed up.[11] In June 2023 Bethell appeared on BBC Radio 4 to defend the government which was trying to prevent disclosure of Boris Johnson's WhatsApp messages to the COVID-19 inquiry and stated that no decisions were made in WhatsApp groups during the pandemic.[12] In December 2023, after Michelle Mone admitted her involvement in PPE Medpro, Bethell posted a screenshot of a text message that Mone had sent him in 2020.[13]

On 17 September 2021, Lord Bethell left government during the second cabinet reshuffle of the second Johnson ministry.[14]

In November 2021, it emerged that Lord Bethell had been part of a government meeting with Randox, the clinical diagnostics firm for which Owen Paterson was found to have breached[15] parliamentary standards, regarding a 600 million pound contract in which, against protocol, no minutes were taken.[16]

Personal life

Bethell is married to Melissa (née Wong), a businesswoman.[17] Lord and Lady Bethell have four children.[18] He succeeded his father Nicholas as Baron Bethell in 2007.

References

  1. 1 2 "Contact information for Lord Bethell - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  2. ↑ "James Bethell". DeSmog UK. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  3. ↑ Harrington, John (19 June 2018). "Cicero buys Westbourne to form 'UK's biggest independent public affairs shop'". PR Week.
  4. ↑ "ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog". ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  5. ↑ "Conservative hereditary peers' by-election, July 2018: result" (PDF). House of Lords. 18 July 2018.
  6. ↑ Bethell, Lord (9 March 2020). "Honoured to be appointed a health minister today. Responsible for life sciences. Committed to supporting @DHSCgovuk response to the #coronavirus challenge. Proud to be part of government's @UKHouseofLords front bench team.pic.twitter.com/0G6MD4KZB1". @JimBethell. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  7. ↑ Pogrund, Gabriel (15 November 2020). "George Pascoe-Watson among lobbyists given secret access to Covid meetings". Times Newspapers Limited.
  8. ↑ Hill, Sophie (21 November 2020). "The Tories' 'chumocracy' over Covid contracts is destroying public trust". Guardian News & Media Limited.
  9. ↑ "Health minister Lord Bethell investigated for giving Parliamentary pass to Matt Hancock's lover". The Independent. 6 July 2021.
  10. ↑ Mason, Rowena (4 August 2021). "Covid contracts: minister replaced phone before it could be searched". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  11. ↑ Greenwood, George (8 November 2021). "Covid contracts: Lord Bethell 'thought deleted messages were backed up'". Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  12. ↑ Walker, Peter (5 June 2023). "Covid WhatsApps used for coffee orders not big decisions, says ex-health minister". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  13. ↑ Quinn, Ben (19 December 2023). "Michelle Mone lashes out at former health minister over his 'lost texts'". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  14. ↑ "Ministerial appointments: September 2021". 16 September 2021.
  15. ↑ "MP Owen Paterson faces suspension for breaking lobbying rules". the Guardian. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  16. ↑ "Owen Paterson: Minister confirms government 'unable to locate' minutes of call between ex-Tory MP, Randox and officials". Sky News. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  17. ↑ "Tesco announces appointment of Melissa Bethell as non-executive Director". Tesco plc.
  18. ↑ "Burke's Peerage". burkespeerage.com.
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