Two of the prime minister’s most senior advisers are being paid through her new chief of staff’s lobbying company, it has emerged, days after Downing Street said it would employ the latter directly. The government admitted last weekend that Liz Truss’s chief of staff, Mark Fullbrook, was being paid through his lobbying firm, a move that could have helped him avoid paying tax. Fullbrook, 60, had previously claimed to the Guardian that he had stopped all commercial activities of the lobbying company, Fullbrook Strategies, as of 31 August this year. It subsequently emerged that Fullbrook had been promised a lucrative contract to run Truss’s next election campaign, as well as being made chief of staff. But the government made a U-turn on Tuesday, stating Fullbrook “will be employed directly by the government on a special adviser contract” after an outcry from the opposition and some Tory MPs, with one saying it did not “smell right” after tax changes in the budget making it easier to pay less tax if paid through a self-employed company. The Sunday Times on Saturday disclosed that two of Truss’s aides were also lobbyists on secondment from Fullbrook Strategies: Alice Robinson, who runs the Conservative leader’s private office, and Mac Chapwell, her political adviser. The newspaper reported that Robinson, 38, was a founding member of Fullbrook’s company when it was incorporated in April this year and previously ran Boris Johnson’s parliamentary office.
Chapwell, 32, is a former Tory official who worked at Fullbrook’s company until last month. A Downing Street spokesperson said: “While there are established arrangements for employees to join government on secondment, to avoid any ongoing speculation all special advisers are employed directly by the government on special adviser contracts. “All government employees, including those joining on secondment, are subject to the necessary checks and vetting, and all special advisers declare their interests in line with Cabinet Office guidance.” Fullbrook is already facing questions over his government role after it emerged he was questioned as a witness as part of an FBI inquiry into alleged bribery in Puerto Rico. At the time, Truss’s spokesperson said she was backing Fullbrook 100%. The prime minister declined to say whether she had been told about his cooperation with the FBI before his appointment, saying only that it had gone through the “proper process”.