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23 Dec 24. Former UK Armed Forces minister breached private sector job rules. James Heappey, who worked in the MoD for four years, told the ACOBA committee of his role after first having signed a contract. Former UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey breached the UK government’s Business Appointment Rules, intended to guide former ministers as they transition into private sector employment, by signing a contract with HPO Technologies after leaving politics earlier this year. According to the Office of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, also known as ACOBA, Heappey was in breach of regulations that state former ministers should seek advice on private sector appointments for two years after leaving office. Heappey, who served in the UK Ministry of Defence for more than four years, informed ACOBA he had left his role as Minister of State for the Armed Forces in March 2024 and subsequently signed a contract of employment with HPO Technologies on 16 September 2024.
“You should have sought the advice of the committee before signing a contract with the company. Consequently, you are unambiguously in breach of the government’s business appointment rules,” ACOBA stated in a written response to Heappey on 18 December.
Continuing, ACOBA stated that there was an “obvious overlap” between Heappey’s responsibilities in public office and the new role in HPO Technologies.
“This is exactly the kind of risk to the integrity of government that the rules are designed to protect,” ACOBA said.
In his original submissions to ACOBA on 16 October, Heappey said he “shouldn’t have signed a contract” prior to seeking out the advice of the committee and had yet to commence work at HPO Technologies nor received any renumeration for participating in an “orientation” meeting. Heappey noted that his contract with HPO Technologies could be “immediately terminated by either side” should ACOBA find the role incompatible. Move from public to private sector commonplace According to its website, HPO Technologies works to deliver “cutting-edge solutions in human performance optimization”, across the defence, health, and corporate sectors. The company is majority owned by London-based investment firm NM Capital. The move from public sector to the private space is commonplace, with UK government officials, MPs, and former military servicepeople regularly transitioning upon completion of their tenure in the military services or public office. In October 2024 former UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace was announced to have joined defence focused private investment fund the BOKA Group, as a partner. Wallace served as UK Defence Secretary from 2019-2023. (Source: army-technology.com)
20 Dec 24. Romania: Centrist government remains likely despite alleged withdrawal of main centrist party. On 19 December, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu stated that his centre-left Social Democratic Party (PSD) would withdraw from coalition negotiations and provide support to a right-wing government. The PSD won the general election on 1 December and was poised to lead the next government in a coalition with centre-right parties such as the National Liberal Party (PNL). If the PSD genuinely withdraws from coalition negotiations, government stability risks will significantly elevate as the PNL and Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) will be forced to form a minority government unless they join forces with hard-right parties such as the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR). However, we assess that the PSD is likely seeking to strengthen its hand and will re-enter negotiations, particularly given the instability risks surrounding the recently annulled presidential election (rescheduled to take place in Spring 2025). We continue to assess that a pro-EU, centrist coalition remains the most likely next government. For more information, see Sibylline Situation Update Brief – 18 December 2024. (Source: Sibylline)
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Founded in 1987, Exensor Technology is a world leading supplier of Networked Unattended Ground Sensor (UGS) Systems providing tailored sensor solutions to customers all over the world. From our Headquarters in Lund Sweden, our centre of expertise in Network Communications at Communications Research Lab in Kalmar Sweden and our Production site outside of Basingstoke UK, we design, develop and produce latest state of the art rugged UGS solutions at the highest quality to meet the most stringent demands of our customers. Our systems are in operation and used in a wide number of Military as well as Homeland Security applications worldwide. The modular nature of the system ensures any external sensor can be integrated, providing the user with a fully meshed “silent” network capable of self-healing. Exensor Technology will continue to lead the field in UGS technology, provide our customers with excellent customer service and a bespoke package able to meet every need.
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