James Cleverly holidayed with a well-connected Tory lobbyist in Gibraltar last weekend, according to POLITICO reports.
Britain’s foreign secretary shared the same hotel as Ahzaz Chowdhury during the visit, a family friend who had previously worked as a lobbyist for the government of Gibraltar.
Cleverly visited the peninsula for a private family holiday and also met with Gibraltar’s chief minister Fabian Picardo during the trip.
The governor of Gibraltar, David Steel, was also present at the meeting.
Although Chowdhury’s firm no longer works with the government, concerns have been raised by transparency campaigners over the informal relationships between lobbyists and UK ministers.
The trip was not publicised by the British government.
When approached by POLITICO, Chowdhury said his paid work for the Government of Gibraltar, which included lobbying in the UK and assisting the administration with finding foreign investors, ended in January.
He said he was currently planning to establish a new business venture on Gibraltar.
Chowdhury said he had never represented clients that would require him to lobby Cleverly directly, due to their close relationship, although he acknowledged he had made previous contact with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in relation to a Gibraltar contract.
“I have previously sent one email to a civil servant in the FCDO to arrange a meeting between them and a senior civil servant from Gibraltar,” he said. “This meeting did not go ahead. And I ceased acting for that project as it was not feasible.”
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