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A 31-year-old controversially made a peer by Boris Johnson set up a PR firm that accumulated more than £2m in assets in just 12 months – and includes the former prime minister as one of its clients.
Ross Kempsell – now Lord Kempsell – is listed as the sole director of the firm Hyannis Strategy, which also has a contract with news channel GB News, which the ex-Tory leader is due to join as a presenter and commentator.
The elevation of Lord Kempsell, Mr Johnson’s former spokesperson and tennis partner, to the House of Lords attracted claims of cronyism from Labour. He took up his seat in July last year.
Lord Kempsell, who was reportedly involved in “Operation Save Big Dog”, the fight to keep Mr Johnson in office in the wake of the Partygate scandal, is also a former journalist and friends with Carrie Johnson.
Last week The Independent revealed that the woman Mr Johnson made Britain’s youngest peer has a plum new job at an environmental consultancy chaired by the ex-PM.
Charlotte Owen, now Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge after she entered the Lords at just 30 years of age, has been appointed vice-president of the company Better Earth.
There is no suggestion Lord Kempsell has done anything wrong.
Companies House shows Hyannis Strategy, formerly Good Night and Good Luck Media, has assets of more than £2m and just one director, who is named “Mr Ross Kempsell”.
The £2m figure is for accounts for the year up to the end of October 2023. The previous year’s accounts show assets of £1.
Lord Kempsell’s register of interests in the Lords lists the company’s current clients as the Office of Boris Johnson Limited, the Policy Exchange think tank, and GB News.
It is understood that the accounts listed at Companies House are for PR work done before Lord Kempsell took up his seat in the Lords and do not include PR work for Mr Johnson.
The register of interests shows Lord Kempsell is also the CEO and founder of a business called Maple Research Limited as well as the founder of Arcani Intelligence Ltd, which is described as providing media advice and business intelligence.
He is also a senior adviser at WJL Partners LLP and a member of the media advisory board of Grayling, a PR and public affairs agency.
The register also shows he visited Israel last year with part of the costs paid for by Jamie Reuben, a property developer and major Tory donor, who previously funded Mr Johnson’s leadership campaign.
A visit to Bahrain was paid for by the government of Bahrain, which also hosted him in the Royal Box at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, while a trip to Doha was paid for in part by the government of Qatar.
Lord Kempsell also received a ticket and hospitality from Turkish Airlines and the Turkish government to attend the Champions League final at Wembley.
Lord Kempsell and Lady Owen both appeared on Mr Johnson’s controversial resignation honours list, which prompted a political storm with Labour calling those listed a “carousel of Boris Johnson’s cronies”.
Last week The Independent revealed that Lady Owen had become the vice-president of the green consultancy of which Mr Jonnson is co-chair, despite not having a background in environmental work.
Before accepting his role as chair of Better Earth, Mr Johnson contacted Acoba, the government body which advises on jobs after ministers leave office, to ask if it was appropriate for him to take the position. They replied, telling him there was a “broad overlap between this appointment and your time in office” and imposed conditions limiting his role for two years. He left office in July 2022.
This was “preventing you from advising on any matters that you were involved in and have yet to be determined or made public; or where you had a relationship with the client/investor”, he was told.
On his trip to Israel, Mr Kempsell said: “I was very honoured to travel to Israel to meet the President of Israel after the horrific 7 October terrorist attacks. It was great to be accompanied by Jamie Reuben who does remarkable work in a number of areas.”
Mr Johnson and Mr Reuben have been approached for comment.
GB News declined to comment.
Ms Owen did not respond to attempts to contact her about Better Earth.
