London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Liz Truss’s chief of staff brings key figures from lobbying firm into No 10

Liz Truss’s chief of staff brings key figures from lobbying firm into No 10

Mark Fullbrook asserts grip on Downing Street by giving senior roles to founding members of Fullbrook Strategies
Mark Fullbrook, Liz Truss’s new chief of staff, has asserted his grip over Downing Street by bringing senior figures from his lobbying firm into No 10.

The political consultant, a former longtime colleague of the election strategist Lynton Crosby, was appointed to the most senior role in Truss’s team this week, having previously worked on the failed leadership campaign of Nadhim Zahawi.

Senior advisory roles in No 10 have now also gone to Mac Chapwell and Alice Robinson, both founding members of his lobbying firm, Fullbrook Strategies.

The company, which launched in the spring, has lobbied the UK government on behalf of clients including the controversial Libyan parliament and a firm that won a £680m PPE deal in the pandemic.

Two more senior No 10 staff, Beatrice Timpson, the deputy press secretary, and Reuben Solomon, a digital adviser, have done stints at CT Group, Crosby’s political consultancy, where Fullbrook worked for over a decade.

Alongside Fullbrook and his aides, Truss’s inner circle comprises a slew of people who have worked for rightwing thinktanks. Sophie Jarvis, a political adviser, is a former staffer at the Adam Smith Institute, a thinktank working to promote neoliberal and free market ideas, while her economics chief is Matthew Sinclair, a former chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, a pressure group campaigning for low taxes.

Some senior Tories have raised eyebrows at Fullbrook’s appointment, given his lack of previous experience in government. He has decades of experience in campaigning in the UK and abroad but no prior role in a department.

One former colleague of Fullbrook described him as “avuncular” and someone who had been an asset to Crosby because of the strength of his links with the Tory grassroots.

Fullbrook struck out on his own in March this year after more than a decade of working with Crosby. Crosby sat on the advisory board of Fullbrook Strategies along with Sir Michael Hintze, the Tory donor and Australian billionaire who helped fund a UK-based lobby group campaigning against net zero climate action.

Jill Rutter, a senior fellow at the Institute for Government and former No 10 civil servant, said the chief of staff role could be done in many different ways but was traditionally held by people with some experience of working with the civil service or running a team in opposition.

“Is he clear what the role is and does that person have an ability to create the relationships needed to make that role work? If it’s Mark Fullbrook, does he run No 10 and what is his relationship with the civil servants and does he have experience inside government, or is he basically there to say 50% of the time [Truss has] got her eye on the next election and things should be done through the lens of getting her reelected?

“We’ve had so many incarnations of the chief of staff job, but both [Truss and Fullbrook] will need to be clear on the expectations of the role and how it fits in with all the other roles inside No 10.”

Truss briefed her MPs at the backbench 1922 Committee on Wednesday that her election campaign was already beginning, and that Fullbrook would brief the party on her strategy next week.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×