Parliamentary Liaison Services
 Parliamentary Liaison Services  | |
|---|---|
| Type | • commercial •  propaganda |
Parliamentary liaison Services (PLS) are a PR company with Tory party political links, working with up to 20 Tory MP's.
They share an office in Grosvenor Gardens with Palace Computing, formally Finbyte Ltd, a company who registered and look after the website for the Parliamentary Resources Unit, a similar Tory advice service, which is accused along with PLS of being illegally paid for by Tory MP's budgets. Palace Computing also maintain and set up websites for Tory MPs.
Tory expenses used to pay PLS
The Times has published several articles revealing that Conservative MPs have spent tens of thousands of pounds of their allowances on advice from PLS, which has close Tory links, in breach of rules that commons allowance is not to be spent on party political services.[1] The Green Book, which outlines the rules for MPs says there is an explicit bar on “advice for individual Members on self promotion, or PR for individuals or political parties”. [2]
- 'The Shadow Cabinet alone has claimed payments of more than £85,000 to Parliamentary Liaison Services, whose director, Mark Fullbrook, is a Tory councillor married to a prospective candidate for the party' says the Times. [3]
Fullbrook claims to work as 'communications adviser' for up to 20 Tory MPs while his company, along with similar PR firms such as Media Intelligence are paid with MPs office and staffing budgets. The MPs who list their use of PLS services are Simon Burns, James Gray, Jonathan Djanogly, James Dudderidge, James Gray, Damian Green, Stephen Hammond, John Horam, David Lidington, Anne Milton, Owen Paterson and John Whittingdale, while Paul Goodman, a shadow minister, gives the head of PLS a Parliamentary pass. [4]
People
Mark Fullbrook managing director and Tory councillor
References
- ↑ Fiona Hamilton, The Times, June 20, 2009 ['Research company paid £2.3m from Tory MPs' allowances']
- ↑ Sam Coates & Francis Elliot, The Times, July 17, 2008 ['Tory MPs' use of staff budgets to pay for PR advice 'against rules]
- ↑ Fiona Hamilton, The Times, June 20, 2009 ['Research company paid £2.3m from Tory MPs' allowances']
- ↑ Sam Coates & Francis Elliot, The Times, July 17, 2008 ['Tory MPs' use of staff budgets to pay for PR advice 'against rules]
