Overview
- Sky News reported that Tim Allan retains a minority stake in lobbying firm Strand Partners and has discussed government activity with senior consultant Tom Baldwin, raising concerns over a perceived conflict of interest.
- Tom Baldwin, a Strand consultant and Sir Keir Starmer’s biographer, has briefed the firm’s corporate clients and was allowed to attend a restricted Treasury budget event with Chancellor Rachel Reeves, which Allan says he did not know about in advance.
- Conservative chairman Kevin Hollinrake has written to Cabinet Office permanent secretary Cat Little seeking an immediate investigation, while Liberal Democrat frontbencher Lisa Smart has pressed the cabinet secretary to act and urged Allan to relinquish his shares.
- Labour says it is categorically false that Allan has benefited Strand, stating any contact with Baldwin has been in his capacity as a journalist, and the Cabinet Office says Allan followed conflict-of-interest procedures before his appointment.
- Allan resigned as Strand’s chair in September and pledged to take no dividends or operational role, and Strand says Baldwin does not conduct government relations for the firm, with no official investigation outcome reported to date.