James Bethell, 5th Baron Bethell explained

Honorific Prefix:The Right Honourable
The Lord Bethell
Office:Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Innovation
Primeminister:Boris Johnson
Term Start:9 March 2020
Term End:17 September 2021
Predecessor:The Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
Successor:The Lord Kamall
Office1:Lord-in-waiting
Government Whip
Primeminister1:Boris Johnson
Term Start1:24 July 2019
Term End1:9 March 2020
Predecessor1:The Viscount Younger of Leckie
Successor1:The Baroness Penn
Office2:Member of the House of Lords
Status2:Lord Temporal
Termlabel2:as an elected hereditary peer
Term Start2:19 July 2018
Predecessor2:The 3rd Lord Glentoran
Birth Name:James Nicholas Bethell
Birth Date:1 October 1967
Party:Conservative
Education:Harrow School
Alma Mater:University 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. 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.[1]

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.[2]

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.[3]

House of Lords

Bethell entered the House of Lords in July 2018, after successfully contesting a Conservative hereditary peers' by-election.[4]

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.[5] [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 regarding a £600 million contract with Randox, the clinical diagnostics firm for which Owen Paterson was found to have breached[15] parliamentary standards 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.

Bethell is a member of the board of trustees of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.[19]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: James Bethell. DeSmog UK. en. 2020-03-26.
  2. Web site: Harrington. John. 19 June 2018. Cicero buys Westbourne to form 'UK's biggest independent public affairs shop'. PR Week.
  3. Web site: ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog. ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog. 2020-03-31.
  4. Web site: Conservative hereditary peers' by-election, July 2018: result. House of Lords. 18 July 2018.
  5. Web site: Contact information for Lord Bethell - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament. members.parliament.uk. en. 2020-03-26.
  6. Web site: 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. Bethell. Lord. 2020-03-09. @JimBethell. en. 2020-03-09.
  7. News: Pogrund . Gabriel . George Pascoe-Watson among lobbyists given secret access to Covid meetings . Times Newspapers Limited . 15 November 2020.
  8. News: Hill . Sophie . The Tories' 'chumocracy' over Covid contracts is destroying public trust . Guardian News & Media Limited . 21 November 2020.
  9. Web site: Health minister Lord Bethell investigated for giving Parliamentary pass to Matt Hancock’s lover. 6 July 2021. The Independent.
  10. News: Mason . Rowena . Covid contracts: minister replaced phone before it could be searched . 19 December 2023 . The Guardian . 4 August 2021.
  11. News: Greenwood . George . Covid contracts: Lord Bethell ‘thought deleted messages were backed up’ . 19 December 2023 . 8 November 2021 . https://archive.today/20221016091556/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/covid-contracts-lord-bethell-thought-deleted-messages-were-backed-up-gpd6tf65j . 16 October 2022 . en.
  12. News: Walker . Peter . Covid WhatsApps used for coffee orders not big decisions, says ex-health minister . 19 December 2023 . The Guardian . 5 June 2023.
  13. News: Quinn . Ben . Michelle Mone lashes out at former health minister over his ‘lost texts’ . 19 December 2023 . The Guardian . 19 December 2023.
  14. Web site: Ministerial appointments: September 2021. 16 September 2021.
  15. Web site: 2021-10-26. MP Owen Paterson faces suspension for breaking lobbying rules. 2021-11-19. the Guardian. en.
  16. Web site: Owen Paterson: Minister confirms government 'unable to locate' minutes of call between ex-Tory MP, Randox and officials. 2021-11-18. Sky News. en.
  17. Web site: Tesco announces appointment of Melissa Bethell as non-executive Director . Tesco plc.
  18. Web site: Burke’s Peerage. burkespeerage.com.
  19. https://members.parliament.uk/member/4708/registeredinterests