Patricia Hewitt joins BT as non-exec director

Patricia Hewitt is to join BT later this month as a non-executive director, boosting her salary by a healthy £60,000. The appointment of the former Secretary of State for both Trade and Health into one of Britain's largest private companies muddies the water between politics and business. As a politician, Hewitt was closely …

[Anonymous Coward]

Incredible isn't it?

MPs demand long holidays and expenses as compensation for their stressful job. And yet Patsie can find time for not one, not two, but three executive directorships on top of her taxpayer-funded job.

I really must find out how it's done. I have trouble keeping down just the one job.

[Anonymous Coward]

That Smells so Bad

While she was Health Secretary BT won the multibiliion fiasco that is the NHS IT project.

Hmmmmmmmmm! Next stop a part time job on the board worth a trifling £60k per year.

[Anonymous Coward]

Snout in the trough

ironic - a former trade and industry secretary finally gets her first job in industry.

[Anonymous Coward]

To anonymous coward

But you're going about it all the wrong way. You're actually working rather than spending 3 minutes a week in meetings and the rest on the patio.

Chris

[Anonymous Coward]

What is BT?

What is BT?

[Fred]

blooming hell...

There go me GPO shares... sorry BT... no i mean openreach!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Representative Democracy.

This is representative democracy in action....

The people of Leicester West voted for Patsie to represent their interests, and she buggered off and represented her own interests.

Talk about civil liberties.

Why don't all of our so-called representative just fcuk off and leave us alone..... we don't need them anyway.... we've got the EU to stand up for us..... Ha-Ha.....

[Anonymous Coward]

NON- exec d'uh!

NON- executuve directors usually only put in a few hours a month. So you can hardly complain about her having time to do several jobs.

I don't like this either though!

[Anonymous Coward]

Interesting woman

A career politician: now out of the cabinet, with a string of disastrous and badly managed IT projects behind her. NHSfIT & MTAS finally earnt her the long walk.

Met her several times at various trade shows and pr-lobbyist lunch-fests, back when Labour was trying to win pals in industry. She has a splendid Mrs Thatch' way about her. She always takes 3 questions from the audience, then answers a completely different question that she herself poses. So 3 jobs, outside the full time one we pay her, for shouldn;t be a problem.

So probably not corrupt in a legal sense, but self serving and morally reprehensible like the rest of her expensed up, private interested, gin soaked hypocritical colleagues on both sides of the house. The message "Stuff the tax payers and the people of Leicester, I need an income when we get booted"

Saying all that, she's an operator and certainly built up a huge base of 'favours' when a minister; as long as BT don;t get her to run anything! she'll oil the wheels well and that will be a good investment of the shareholders £60k.

[Mike]

@AnonymousCoward

"NON- executuve directors usually only put in a few hours a month. So you can hardly complain about her having time to do several jobs."

A few hours a month? So lets say that's 40 hours a year for £60k. Or £1500 an hour. To do what?

Oh NON-EXEC? So she doesn't vote or make decisions. So £1500/hr to do sod all.

No wonder BT has to raise its prices to be able to "compete". Bastards.

[Anonymous Coward]

Come on everyone, you know how it really works...

"You give us a really BIG contract.." (like Spine) "... and we'll take care of you later with a non-exec position".

I reckon a fair few El Reg readers will have clauses in their employment contracts which state they should spend their energies on their main work and not have other interests. In fact, I think this is a major conflict of interest for any MP.

If the MP salary (and numerous allowances) isn't good enough for them to consider the role full time they should not apply to be MPs.

They get voted in because people vote Labour, Conservative or Lib Dem based on their upbringing or family values. Not because the Person is good at the job or will truely represent the local area's views. Martin Bell was one of a few independents, he didn't last long as an MP.

[Bill Norrie]

Huh?

That absolutely STINKS !! Talk about conflict of interests...............

C'mon people of Leicester - Boot her out at the next election and get someone who really has YOUR interests at heart - that is - if you can find one

[Fred]

waste...

That expenses thing better start a riot or somthing, im getting pissed off having to moan and hear ppl moaning all day! time to stand up and do something.

/mines the one with the red star on the hoody.

[pctechxp]

I'm in the wrong job

Anyone know how you become an independent MP?

My manifesto would be to bring more tech jobs back to Blighty.

I would probably be the only MP with a good understanding of technology and maybe I could snag a non-exec directorship of BT, Vodafone or Telefonica O2

[Steve]

And people wonder...

how the likes of Phorm are allowed to get away with their abuses of our supposed freedoms...

UK CITIZEN #19972008 - I am a number, not a free man!

[Slaine]

number 6

so - did ms hewitt get this job in return for something, was it completely out of the blue, or did she have to fill out a phorm?