Dozens of special advisers to the last Conservative government now work as lobbyists and consultants for oil giants, banks, pharmaceutical firms and other private companies.
openDemocracy’s analysis of the career paths of these former ‘spads’ reveals that many have gone on to work for huge corporations in the same industry they once advised the government on – prompting concerns that they could use privileged information and their contacts in the civil service to offer their new firms a commercial advantage.
We’ve found more than 20 former special advisers, or spads, who’ve joined lobbying agencies that do not publish a full list of their clients, making it impossible to know whether they are representing firms they once had dealings with in government.
