Soubry moans AGAIN: Remainer claims Boris’ critics blocked from senior public roles
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Anna Soubry, whose applications for high-profile public roles are being rejected, claims she is being blocked because of her opposition to Brexit and Boris Johnson.
The former MP, whose ministerial career ran from 2012 to 2016, has previously worked as a TV journalist and is now a criminal defence barrister in the East Midlands.
She applied for jobs as the chair of the broadcasting regulator Ofcom; the chair of the Charity Commission, which regulates good causes, and as a non-executive director at Channel 4.
Mr Soubry said she had not been called for interviews even though her experience and qualifications were relevant for the roles.
Speaking about being ignored by the Charity Commission, she told The Guardian: “I really understand the charity sector.
“How could they not offer me an interview?”
“Then I applied to be on the board of Channel 4.
“They were looking for a non-executive director with political and media experience.”
The skillsets Channel 4 was looking for included “news/journalism; broadcasting; regulation; legal, government/parliament”.
Ms Soubry said: “I mean, hello, all those years as a journalist and a politician at a senior level.”
The appointments at Ofcom and the Charity Commission are being made by ministers. The recruitment process at Channel 4, meanwhile, is managed by Ofcom with the final decision made by MPs, the regulator said.
Ofcom said it ran “a fair and impartial process involving independent interview panellists”.
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But Ms Soubry insisted: “I have no doubt I have been blacklisted because of my views on Boris Johnson, which are well known, and because of my views on Brexit.
“I think it is shocking and disgraceful.”
The Charity Commission’s job advert states that significant political activity — including holding office, public speaking, and standing for election — could present a conflict of interest.
To avoid this, it required candidates to provide accounts of political activity over the last five-year period – but only if selected for an interview.
Ms Soubry’s journey as a minister spanned three departments – firstly at the Ministry of Defence; then at the Ministry of Defence, and lastly at Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
She left the Conservatives in February 2019 and formed the Independent Group for Change, also known as Change UK, alongside disaffected Labour MPs.
The party dissolved just 10 months later as all its MPs lost their seats in the 2019 general election.
The Remainer has not been an elected politician since December 2019.
She said she knew how the public appointments system worked thanks to her involvement in selecting candidates during David Cameron’s government.
She explained if candidates “were supporters of the Labour party they would not be appointed”.
In Mr Johnson’s government, Ms Soubry stresses things have “gone beyond that” and assures “there are people who are on a blacklist”.
A government spokesperson stated: “None of these public appointment processes have concluded.
“Public appointments are made in line with the governance code which clearly sets out that assessment panels must be objective when deciding which candidates meet the criteria for a role.”
The former minister, however, emphasised: “I am told that anybody who is applying for any form of public role, their social media will be checked out and if they have tweeted anything anti-Brexit or anything anti-Boris Johnson they are out.
“Even if they are ably qualified, they don’t have a cat in hell’s chance.”
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