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http://www.ex-bbc.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl >> News and Comment >> Birt stays at No 10 http://www.ex-bbc.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1128685980 Message started by Forum Admin on Oct 7^th, 2005, 11:54am

Title: Birt stays at No 10
Post by Forum Admin on Oct 7^th, 2005, 11:54am

This is taken from The Guardian:

Lord Birt to keep his job as Tony Blair's strategy adviser

by Rob Evans
Friday October 7, 2005

Tony Blair has decided to retain Lord Birt as his "blue skies" strategy adviser after reports that the peer was seeking to leave Downing Street and work full-time elsewhere. Downing Street confirmed yesterday that Lord Birt's contract, which ran out on Tuesday, had been renewed. "He has been reappointed on the same terms and conditions of his previous contract for another year," said a spokesman.

Lord Birt, 61, had reportedly applied for the £300,000-a-year job of chairman of one of the world's biggest uranium enrichment companies. Last week, the company, Urenco, appointed another candidate, Christopher Clark, the former chief executive of the chemicals company Johnson Matthey.

In an interview with the Guardian last month, Lord Birt signalled that he was open to job offers, saying: "I've never been shy of wealth creation, even though ultimately I am more of a public sector animal than anything else." Before this year's general election, there were reports that he was after a ministerial job , but nothing materialised. Another of the prime minister's advisers, Andrew Adonis, was appointed schools minister after the election. The former BBC director-general has also been tipped to take over as chairman of the media regulator, Ofcom. Neither Downing Street nor Lord Birt wanted to comment on the reasons for his reappointment yesterday.

As before Lord Birt will not be paid for his role as the prime minister's strategy adviser. He was appointed in 2001 to give the prime minister "confidential advice on the long-term strategic issues facing government". But ministers became annoyed that he was straying on to their territory, especially as they disagreed with his advice. After cloaking his work in secrecy for four years, Downing Street this summer published portions of his secret reports which showed that he had been giving advice on at least six areas of government policy - health, crime, education, transport, drugs, and London.

Opposition politicians have criticised him for potential conflicts between his paid private interests and his role as the prime minister's adviser. In July, he was forced to resign as a consultant for McKinsey's ,which has won an increasing number of contracts from government departments.

Norman Baker, Liberal Democrat MP said: "I am disappointed that Lord Birt did not find a job elsewhere, because he will continue to give his third-rate and amateurish advice to the prime minister. Why could he not be appointed governor of the Falkland Islands?"