Former First Minister Arlene Foster has been advertising herself as a renewable energy expert at a cost of more than £10,000 a day, it can be revealed.
The crossbench peer is presenting herself for hire through a public speaking agency which states that her guideline fees are between £2,500 and £5,000 a time.
However, when the Belfast Telegraph posed as a fictitious corporate fixer asking about the cost of speakers for a green energy firm’s executive away day, the agency gave us figures which are considerably higher.
We’d asked for a quote for Baroness Foster to speak and take questions for 90 minutes and a second quote for what it would be if she was to attend the whole day.
After contacting Baroness Foster to establish her willingness to participate, The Speakers Agency [sic] came back with a figure of £6,250 — with VAT and travel costs on top of that figure.
When we queried if that was for the full day, it said that it was just for 90 minutes.
To hire the former DUP leader for a full day would cost “in the region of £10,000”, the agency told us, “but this could be slightly more depending on exact requirements”.
Despite her involvement in the Renewable Heating Incentive (RHI) scandal, Baroness Foster’s public pitch for business has specifically highlighted what she sees as her considerable knowledge in the area of energy policy.
She stated that she could provide expertise on “renewable energy sources” and offer advice on “future energy policy in Britain and the world”
Her pitch said: “As the ex-Minister of Energy for Northern Ireland Arlene knows only too well the difference between what the world needs and the price we are prepared to pay.”
Her suggested speaking topics also include “getting to the right decision” which includes “understanding the culture and trying to manage change in a way which brings others with you who may be opposed to you initially”.
Mrs Foster’s other topics include speaking on “leadership in challenging circumstances”, which she says includes “being positive when all around you are not”.
The former Stormont minister’s pitch states that “in 2017, Baroness Arlene Foster as [sic] the second most powerful woman in UK politics” and says that she “has led by example in many ways”.
The former First Minister’s biography highlights her “instrumental role” in securing major sporting events such as the Irish Open and Giro d’Italia “and securing record levels of investment into the economy” while Minister in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI).
She also says she can speak on “being a woman in a man’s world… a story to inspire young women” that “no matter where you come from, you can achieve great things with determination, resilience, planning and organisation.”
There’s no mention of the non-domestic RHI scheme, which was set up without cost controls on Baroness Foster’s watch, something she later admitted happened after she hadn’t even read the legislation she had asked MLAs to pass into law.
The scheme’s vast overspending was viewed by Baroness Foster’s then special adviser Andrew Crawford as a good thing because he thought the money was coming from London — but the Treasury then told Stormont it would have to bear much of the massive projected bill, pushing devolution towards collapse and leading to a public inquiry which exposed astonishing incompetence within the Stormont system.
Sir Patrick Coghlin’s inquiry ultimately found that Baroness Foster’s officials had failed her by giving her inaccurate and misleading information but criticised the former minister for not reading the legislation, something it said was “a core part of a minister’s job”.
It identified instances of “unacceptable behaviour” by Mrs Foster’s special adviser, Dr Crawford, who shared confidential RHI documents with family members at a point where he had inside information about coming changes which would make it less lucrative.
Last week Baroness Foster was confirmed as chair of the new Government trade body Intertrade UK, with Secretary of State Hilary Benn saying that “her knowledge and experience will be crucial in promoting the opportunities that are available to businesses, further strengthening Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market”.
Posing as a corporate fixer for a client in the energy industry focusing on renewables, we asked if Baroness Foster would attend a corporate away day for executives and senior staff to discuss the intersection between central and devolved government in energy policy.
There is no suggestion that anything Baroness Foster has done is illegal.
Many peers have outside commercial interests which are entirely lawful, so long as they are properly declared in the register of interests.
Baroness Foster’s register of interests lists her as a presenter on GB News, although her previous Friday slot appears to have been dropped by the broadcaster.
On the GB News website, the last episode of ‘The Briefing With Arlene Foster’ — billed as a “must-watch afternoon dose of agenda-setting interviews, punchy debate and insightful analysis” — is from February, with a few appearances by the former DUP leader on other of the broadcaster’s programmes since then.
She is also a “consultant on public policy” for JMK Solicitors, a firm which specialises in personal injury claims, and an “occasional public policy consultant” for Lisburn plastics firm Boomer Industries Ltd.
Baroness Foster’s register of interests also records that she is an occasional columnist for the Daily Express’s website, for the Daily Telegraph, and for The Impartial Reporter, as well as being chair and director of the Elizabeth School of London.
Until recently she had been a non-executive director of the digital payments firm ipaypdq Limited, but that ceased in June.
We asked Baroness Foster why she believed it was appropriate to seek to profit from her time as Stormont energy minister when so many people have suffered because of the RHI scandal which flowed from flawed legislation she hadn’t read.
We also asked her if she had any apology to the honest RHI claimants who had borrowed heavily to invest in a scheme which she’d promised had 20 years of locked-in payments which could only be increased with inflation and never decreased — but who have now had their payments slashed to far beneath comparable schemes in Britain and the Republic of Ireland.
At the time of going to press, there had been no response to either question.
However, while Baroness Foster did not respond, she did take action after receiving our questions.
The next day, the section of her profile which touted her as an expert speaker on energy issues vanished.
One RHI claimant told the Belfast Telegraph that Baroness Foster’s actions showed “a complete lack of self-awareness” about the “disastrous impact” of her time in government.
“She’s trying to monetise skills that she says she has but I wouldn’t pay her £5 an hour for business advice”, he said.
by cromcru
7 comments
What an absolute tube. £10k a day?? Jesus Christ Arlene. At least try and live on planet Earth with the rest of us.
Turn your ash to cash today for the low low price of £10,000, I will help “consult” you on the best course of action, all you need to do is pay me a bri… I mean consultation fee and I will work towards your interests.
>However, when the Belfast Telegraph posed as a fictitious corporate fixer asking about the cost of speakers for a green energy firm’s executive away day, the agency gave us figures which are considerably higher.
Well duh, her green energy policy is to turn original cost into far greater cost. That and rename it to orange energy.
The stones on these people. After RHI you come out as a consultant?!
Surely on Fosters record the companies laying out thos £10k will. Get £15k back?
Ash still = Cash
That’s Tom Smyth levels of grifting.