Seasoned entrepreneur Brent Hoberman has called out media scrutiny of the commercial interests of government business advisors. 

Posting on LinkedIn, Hoberman asked: “How do we think talented people will want to join government if the media constantly insinuates negative motives?” 

The lastminute.com and Founders Forum creator was responding to a piece in the Financial Times reporting that Varun Chandra – Keir Starmer’s chief business aide – will continue to receive dividend payments from his multimillion-pound stake in the advisory firm Hakluyt.   

In a move that he described as “typical of the British media approach”, Hoberman said figures like Chandra sacrifice “large amounts of upside” and the “media assumes conflicts of interest everywhere”. 

“We know from public information that others have declined UK gov roles due to the obligation to give up all commercial interests,” Hoberman said. 

“How many skilled people do we stop going into government when we expect them to give up everything for much less financial reward and a media onslaught?”  

It follows another story from the FT in November in which it suggested that the influence of government AI adviser and serial entrepreneur Matt Clifford had “drawn sceptics” and that his focus on AI safety had “been detrimental to other parts of the British AI industry”.    

Hoberman concluded by claiming stories like these are a “warning shot for smart business people to avoid government roles”. 

Former Darktrace CEO turned minister in Starmer’s cabinet Poppy Gustafsson responded to Hoberman’s comments saying discouragement of business leaders working with the government goes a “long way”. 

Gustafsson said: “I for one would welcome more business people into government. You can have a real impact and your experience will be welcomed. Anyone that is thinking about it, please do let me persuade you to do it!” 

Speaking to UKTN, Hoberman pointed to an earlier candidate for Gustafsson’s role as investment minister, Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, who reportedly withdrew due to the requirement that he make costly changes to his business ties. 

On Thursday, the Financial Times reported that Chandra is still entitled to dividend payments from his role as a former managing partner of Hakluyt and has divested only a quarter of his previous stake since joining Starmer’s team in July. 

According to the publication, Chandra received over £300,000 in dividends plus a salary of £2.1m from the year to June 2023.  

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