Elizabeth Symons, Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

Elizabeth Conway Symons, Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, PC (born April 14, 1951) is a former British trade union leader and politician, and formerly a Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. She was created a Labour life peer as Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, of Vernham Dean in the County of Hampshire in 1996.

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Early life

Her father, Ernest Symons, was Chairman of HM Board of Inland Revenue. She was educated at Putney High School for Girls and Girton College, Cambridge. She was an administration trainee at the Department of the Environment from 1974 to 1977.

She then worked for trade unions. She was with the Inland Revenue Staff Federation from 1977 to 1989 (her father had retired so she had no conflict of interest) and was General Secretary of the First Division Association from 1989 to 1997. She resigned from this post following her appointment as a working peer.

Political life

From May 1997 to June 1999, she took her first government post, serving as a junior Foreign Office Minister. In 1999, she was appointed Minister of State for Defence Procurement, and in 2001 Minister of State for Trade. In June 2003, she was appointed Minister of State for the Middle East, International Security, Consular and Personal Affairs in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords.

Symons was or remains a member of the British-American Project (BAP). It has a membership of 600 leaders and opinion formers, drawn equally from both countries, according to "The Guardian", and holds an annual conference at which everything that is said is officially off-the-record. [ [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,11538,1343704,00.html Feature: Andy Beckett reports on the British-American Project | World news | The Guardian ] ] According to investigative journalist John Pilger, the BAP has been funded by and worked with a long list of U.S. right-wing foundations and groups including the Pew Charitable Trust, which provided the start-up funds. [ [http://pilger.carlton.com/print/19252] Dead link|date=March 2008] Symons also serves on the Board of Governors of the Ditchley Foundation.

In 2001, she married her long-standing partner, Phil 'Berty Basset' Bassett, Rupert Murdoch's former labour writer at "The Times". They have a son, James, born in 1985. In October 2002, Bassett was appointed to the strategic communications unit in 10 Downing Street, leaving in September 2003 to become special adviser to Lord Falconer of Thoroton, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs.

Corporate career

She was not given a job in the re-shuffle after the general election of May 5, 2005, and became a non-executive director of British Airways.

Criticism

"The Guardian" alleged in its issue of January 9, 2005 that Symons may have used her office to give "special treatment" to David Mills, husband of Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell. Mills was seeking her assistance in sidestepping a U.S. trade embargo against Iran, in order to sell $200 million worth of British Aerospace jets to that country. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,1386345,00.html Minister's 'advice' on Iran jet deal | Politics | The Observer ] ]

On February 9, 2006, "The Guardian" mentioned her as one several former government ministers who had accepted lucrative positions as company directors and consultants. In the case of Symons, the companies involved were British Airways, law firm DLA Piper, and the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O). [ [http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1705557,00.html#article_continue From Brussels to the boardroom: what George Robertson did next | Business | The Guardian ] ]

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