Levitt denies he has post-election job at Nestlé

Following a story in the latest Private Eye, Tom Levitt MP has issued a denial* that following the General Election he plans to become a paid adviser for Nestlé. The Private Eye story ran as follows:

Tom Levitt, Labour MP for High Peak, is standing down at the next election - no doubt to the relief of colleagues who were often bemused by his defence of Nestlé, the food giant frequently attacked for its baby milk marketing practices.

Levitt even went on a Nestlé-funded trip to South Africa, returning full of praise for his hosts and even quoting Nestle's own PR on his blog to refute activists' charges.

Announcing his decision not to stand for re-election, Levitt said: "I would like to spend more time with my wife, our children and grandchildren. I would also like to do something different in the work environment." How fortunate that one of the roles that will help the transition to his "new work environment" will be... as a paid adviser to Nestlé!

Levitt issued his own response as a press release, which is below:

"Over the years I have been a guest of Nestlé at Wimbledon, at a cricket test match and on a visit to South Africa in 2008 to look at Corporate Social Responsibility, all properly recorded in the Register of Members' Interests. Nestlé is the owner of Buxton Water, an important local employer and an iconic brand of the High Peak area. It is right for the MP to have close relations with important local companies.

"I have no firm plans yet for what I shall be doing in the work environment after the election - though I have some irons in the fire - but the post of "paid advisor to Nestlé" is news to me.

"I am not aware of any MP colleague who has been "bemused" in the way the story suggests. The "practices" to which the story refers took place 30 to 40 years ago and I now believe that Nestlé is amongst the most ethical of traders in this field."

Now the history of Levitt's involvement with Nestlé is long, and there is plenty to be found on the internet which I'm sure we will look at in future. But a little bit of research suggests there's perhaps more to Levitt's "close relations" with this "important local company" (Levitt speak for multinational corporation with a plant in High Peak) than he's letting on.

Firstly, there's the All-Party British-Swiss Parliamentary Group. As the name suggests, it's a cosy little organisation that spans all sides of the House of Commons, concerned with matters of trade and commerce. Tom Levitt is the Vice Chair (he used to be the Chair), and the current Chair is a Charles Hendry - those who are either too young or who have short memories will remember that he was the Tory MP for High Peak prior to Levitt's election in 1997.

Tom Levitt has also booked rooms in the House of Commons** for the British Swiss Chamber of Commerce (BSCC) on a number of occasions, this being revealed in the last rash of expenses data.

And this article from the Times in 2006 revealed that Levitt was amongst a number of other MPs having jolly skiing holiday in Davos under the name of the All-Party Parliamentary Ski week, which is linked to the BSCC.

Now people with more time on their hands than us can probably pick the bones out of that brief trawl of the internet. But the suggestion here is that making the right connections using the time politicians are paid to be working for constituents may pay off for themselves later, if it hasn't already.

There's surely more dirt to dig, and this is just the start of it.

*when this link no longer works, try this screengrab
** - opens PDF. See pages 102 & 103 for the full list of rooms booked by Levitt.