Theodore Thomas More Agnew, Baron Agnew of Oulton, (born 17 January 1961) is a British businessman,

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

life peer and former Minister of State at the Cabinet Office and

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ...

. He also founded the Inspiration Trust, and is the Trust's former chairman.

Early life

He was born in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, brought up in Oulton near

Aylsham Aylsham ( or ) is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Bure in north Norfolk, England, nearly north of Norwich. The river rises near Melton Constable, upstream from Aylsham and continues to Great Yarmouth and the North Sea, ...

and educated at

Beeston Hall School Beeston Hall School is an independent day and boarding preparatory school for boys and girls in the village of Beeston Regis, Norfolk. Founded in 1948, Beeston Hall currently accommodates 125 pupils aged 4 – 13 making it the largest boardin ...

and

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

. After school, he worked in Canada and Australia, initially in farming but later buying and selling a variety of businesses.

Career

After working in Australia, he returned to the UK, founded Town & Country Assistance in 1989, and grew the business to annual gross revenues of £40 million. Selling it to

Warburg Pincus Warburg Pincus LLC is a global private equity firm, headquartered in New York, with offices in the United States, Europe, Brazil, China, Southeast Asia and India. Warburg has been a private equity investor since 1966. The firm currently has over ...

in 2002, he became co-founder of WNS Global Services. He resigned as a non-executive director of Jubilee Managing Agency Ltd in 2011, a Lloyd's insurance business managing £130 million of premiums. He has a financial interest in the artificial intelligence company Faculty. He is a past trustee of

Policy Exchange Policy Exchange is a British conservative think tank based in London. In 2007 it was described in ''The Daily Telegraph'' as "the largest, but also the most influential think tank on the right". ''The Washington Post'' said Policy Exchange's re ...

, a Westminster-based

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

. He served as chairman of the Norfolk Community Foundation in 2013 but remains a vice patron. Agnew is the founder and chairman of the Inspiration Trust, a multi-academy trust that runs fourteen schools in East Anglia. The Trust was founded as the East Norfolk Academy Trust on 14 August 2012, changing its name to the Inspiration Trust on 27 January 2013. Agnew was a non-executive board member of the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...

and chairman of its Academies Board from 2013 to 2015. He was appointed lead non-executive board member of the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

in July 2015. Agnew is a board member of the Education Policy Institute, a Westminster-based research institute.

1997 General Election

Theodore Agnew joined James Goldsmith's

Referendum Party The Referendum Party was a Eurosceptic, single-issue political party that was active in the United Kingdom from 1994 to 1997. The party's sole objective was for a referendum to be held on the nature of the UK's membership of the European Union ...

some time before the 1997 General Election and was selected as their Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

constituency. In the ensuing poll he garnered 1,637 votes (3.4%), coming fourth after Nigel Roberts (5881, 12.2%). The seat was held by Labour's Jamie Cann (25,484, 52.7%) - a 10.4% swing to Labour.

Education minister

Agnew was appointed as

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister ...

for the School System, in the

, on 28 September 2017. He had an interest in improving the cost base of schools. He was created ''Baron Agnew of Oulton'', of Oulton in the county of

, on 19 October 2017, sitting with the Conservative Party group in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

Treasury/Cabinet Office Minister

Agnew became Minister of State for Efficiency and Transformation jointly at the Cabinet Office and

on 14 February 2020. Agnew had a senior role in the UK's vaccination effort during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. He referred two companies to the PPE fast or VIP lane: Worldlink Resources, advised by former MP Brooks Newmark, which gained contracts for £258 million, and Uniserve, which gained an additional contract for £304 million. In April 2021 he was accused of a conflict of interest over his shares in Public Group, a firm helping companies bid for government contracts.

Resignation

On 24 January 2022, Agnew resigned as Minister of State for Efficiency and Transformation after strongly criticising the government's failure to tackle billions of pounds worth of fraud in the Coronavirus Bounce Back Loan Scheme. Agnew said "a combination of arrogance, indolence and ignorance" was "freezing the government machine". Agnew accused the government of making "schoolboy errors" through giving loans to more than 1,000 companies which were not trading when the pandemic happened.

Post ministerial career

He endorsed

Kemi Badenoch Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch ( ; née Adegoke, 2 January 1980) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for International Trade, President of the Board of Trade and Minister for Women and Equalities since 2022. She previously served i ...

in the July 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.

Personal life

Agnew

donated A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs such as bl ...

a total of £134,000 to the Conservative Party between 2007 and 2009.

Honours

Agnew was appointed a deputy lieutenant (DL) of Norfolk in 2013. He was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

in the 2015 New Year Honours "for services to education".

Notes

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Agnew, Theodore 1961 births British businesspeople Conservative Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Deputy Lieutenants of Norfolk Knights Bachelor Living people People educated at Beeston Hall School People educated at Rugby School People from Broadland (district)