SIMON HART  MP:  THE MAN BEHIND HUNTING.

By : Accidental Writer

17/09/2020

 

Secretary of State for Wales

Conservative MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire

Previous to his political career, Hart was Master of the South Pembrokeshire Hunt for 10 years from 1988 to the end of the 1997/8 season and became Chief Executive of the pro-hunting Countryside Alliance, 2003–2010, which helped stage 300 hunts across the country on Boxing Day to oppose the current hunting ban.

 

He is an outspoken supporter of foxhunting and is quoted he wishes the “Hunting with Dogs Act” to be repealed!

 

After being elected as MP for Carmarthen West & South Pembrokeshire in 2010, he went back on the Countryside Alliance payroll as a consultant at £20,000 a year for six hours a week.

 

In November he was given a new role, earning £30,000 a year – more than the average UK salary – as a “high net-worth consultant” with the Countryside Alliance working just eight hours a week.

 

The pay rise, awarded in November and disclosed in the latest register of members’ interests, comes after dad-of-two Mr Hart, 52, was made a member of Parliament’s environment, food and rural affairs committee.

Simon Hart has faced calls to quit the Commons environment committee after getting a pay rise from fox hunting supporters (Countryside Alliance).

 

02 Aug 2019 by Tim Bonner

Our Chairman, Simon Hart MP, who has served the Alliance in nearly every imaginable role over the last 20 years, has been appointed as a Minister in the Cabinet Office. This means he has had to resign from the Countryside Alliance as the Ministerial Code requires him to give up all outside interests.

 

This is concerning as he accepted donations and gifts from people with an agenda for hunting and we need to ask “is his conflict of interest” acceptable for a person in his position of government?

 

Below you will see a list of the perks Simon Hart has received for being an MP.

 

A nice day out at the Chelsea Flower Show was funded by Japan Tobacco Int. 

 which chalked up  £1,404.00. The tobacco industry and a flower show? How incongruous.

 

A donation came from conservative supporter Ukrainian born Alexander Temerko, an energy businessman who previously was involved in the arms sector. 

 

United & Cecil Club, who often focus on marginal seats. They are a Dining Club that has close links to the Conservative Party and further boosted donations received.

 

One of the more questionable donations, boosting Hart’s coffers, was made by Johan Christofferson, known for his love of fox hunting. This individual has previously been a Joint Master of the Jedforest (prosecuted for illegal foxhunting) and Isle of Wight Hunts. In 2004, the MFA banned him for a month, this was after pro hunt protesters, including Stuart Trousdale, former joint master of Jedforest Hunt, dumped the remains of two calves, a bullock and horse outside the Labour Party Conference in Brighton, 2004, as a protest.

‘The court was told the pair dumped the animals on the day of Tony Blair’s keynote speech to show their opposition to a proposed ban on hunting.’

 

Christofferson also made donations to Nick Herbert MP, another hunt supporter, following his confirmation the Tories would offer a free vote to repeal the Ban.

Herbert is a keen hunt supporter and was an amateur whip for Essex Foxhounds, also Joint Master and Huntsman of the Newmarket beagles, hunting hares for fun in 1988.  

Nick Herbert was MP for Arundel and South Downs and in 2010 was Minister of State with responsibility for Policing and criminal justice. 

In October 2019, it was announced that Herbert was rejoining the Countryside Alliance, of which he was a founder, as Chairman.

Herbert was made a peer in 2020 and is now known as Lord Herbert of South Downs.

 

Sarah Boyack, MSP made an observation about Christofferson  “The financial support from Mr Christofferson is clearly designed to influence the decision to repeal the ban and any attempt to do so should be resisted.”

 

Boris Johnson has also benefitted from his generosity, Christofferson making payments to him totalling £36k, in 2019.

 

Lord Daresbury, who owns land and propeties in Cheshire coveted by the Hunts, has also chipped in.
Lord (Peter) Daresbury has been Master of the Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn’s Hunt for 29 seasons (Wynnstay Hunt), Chairman of the Masters of Foxhounds Association from 1999 to 2005, Board of directors for the Countryside Alliance, Chairman of Aintree

28 Aug 2020 by Polly Portwin

The Countryside Alliance is delighted to announce that Lord Daresbury, Charles Moore and Chris Horne are joining our Board in September 2020. 

 

The Simon Hart & Lord Daresbury email scandal

Leaked email 2004 :  Lord Daresbury was Chairman of the Master of Fox Hounds Associations when he made perhaps the biggest single blunder in the history of the hunting lobby.

In early 2004 he wrote to all registered FH chairmen, urging hunts to get ‘their’ farmers to provide plenty of opportunities for foxes to breed on their land, as they were running short of foxes to hunt in many areas. Bang goes their ‘pest control’ argument. Simon Hart, then CEO of the Countryside Alliance (now a Tory MP, though still in receipt of £30k a year from the hunting lobby), emailed him back, tearing him off a strip for being so bloody stupid.

 

 

Simon Hart has also received gifts such as 2 tickets to the Cricket World Cup in July 2019 from England & Wales Cricket Board to the value of  £948 and tickets from M A R Galadari, twice, to watch cricket at the Oval value £1,200.

 

• Alexander Temerko  £41,231.66 from himself and offshore groups Newcastle Ltd and Aquired Ltd.

 

• Johan Christofferson £10,000

 

• Marc Pennick £7,000 

 

• Landsker Business Club £20,000

 

• Michael O’Reilly £2,500

 

• Fraser Duffin £15,000

 

• United & Cecil  Club £8,500

 

• 8 hwe Ltd £3,000

 

• The Lord Daresbury  £2,000

 

• David Lawes £4,500

 

• Anthony Buckingham £5000

 

• Carmarthen West & South, Pembrokeshire Patrons’ Club £2,280.86

 

Simon Hart claimed more than £7,500 for first class rail tickets for himself in just one year alone, while his staff travelled standard.

 

How can Simon Hart possibly be impartial to the issue of Fox Hunting, when he associates with such individuals, who butter his bread. What is the incentive of these monetary transactions?

 

It is high time questions are asked of Simon Hart, as to what motives may be behind the generous contributions and gifts he benefits from.

 

What is known, and probably is a very good indicator of the machinations of these donations, is the inducement they make to certain individuals,  to facilitate their own personal agendas 

In simple terms, it seems some MPs services can easily be bought to further the agendas of those that donate to them. How is this inducement even allowed?

 

 

If you combine all the ministerial positions relating to upholding the law on illegal hunting and see their connections to the hunting lobby, you start to understand why the law on hunting with dogs is not properly upheld.

• Prime minister
• Policing minister
• Welsh Secretary
• Attorney General
• Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• Leader of the House of Commons
• Rural Affairs Ministers

 

If you feel this is grossly inappropriate, please contact :

 Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA

Telephone number: 0207 219 3738 

Email: standardscommissioner@parliament.uk 

Website: www.parliament.uk/pcs