Mark Stephen Fullbrook (born June 1962) is a British political strategist and lobbyist who was

Downing Street Chief of Staff The Downing Street chief of staff is the most senior Special adviser (UK), political appointee in the 10 Downing Street#Office of the Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, acting as a senior aide to the Prime Minist ...

from September to October 2022.

Early life and education

Fullbrook was born in June 1962. He read management science at the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

Career

Between January 1988 and December 1992, Fullbrook was the Deputy Head of Campaigning for the Conservative Party under

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

and

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

before working as the Head of Campaigning. Fullbrook was a partner and the chief global projects officer of the C/T Group from May 2010 to May 2022 alongside

Lynton Crosby Sir Lynton Keith Crosby (born 23 August 1956)''Who's Who in Australia 2015'', ConnectWeb. is an Australian political strategist who has managed election campaigns for right-of-centre parties in several countries. Crosby has been described as ...

, a long-time partner of Fullbrook. He established and briefly was CEO of his own consultancy firm, Fullbrook Strategies Limited, between May and September 2022, which advised

Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth da ...

during her ultimately successful Conservative Party leadership campaign. The company ceased commercial trading several days before Fullbrook's appointment to Downing Street. In his role, Fullbrook had advised former speaker of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...

, as well as

David Trimble William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a Northern Irish politician who was the inaugural First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002 and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 20 ...

and

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

between June and July 2019 for his successful Conservative Party leadership campaign. He has also advised the

Libyan house of representatives Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. All figures are from the United Nations Demographic Yearbook ...

and the Sante Group, which was awarded a £680 million PPE grant during the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confirm ...

. He has been interviewed by FBI agents about an alleged criminal plot to bribe the former governor of Puerto Rico,

Wanda Vázquez Garced Wanda Emilia Vázquez Garced (born July 9, 1960) is a Puerto Rican politician and attorney who served as the 188th Governor of Puerto Rico from 2019 to 2021. Prior to her tenure as governor, she served as the 19th Secretary of Justice from 2 ...

, on behalf of

Julio Herrera Velutini Julio Martín Herrera Velutini (born 15 December 1971) is an Italian-Venezuelan billionaire businessman and founder of Britannia Financial Group. He comes from one of the 20 Mantuan families that ruled the city of Caracas since the 17th century ...

, a Venezuelan banker.

Downing Street Chief of Staff

Fullbrook was appointed

from September to October 2022, under

. The

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

informed the public that Fullbrook's service for the Prime Minister would be paid through his lobbying company in a highly unusual arrangement that could allow him to pay less tax. In October 2022 it was reported in the Guardian newspaper that Fullbrook continued to hold a 10% stake in the lobbying business CT Group. In the past clients of CT Group have included Philip Morris (a tobacco company), Glencore (a mining company) and the Saudi Arabian government. The potential conflict of interest had not been publicly disclosed since Fullbrook joined Downing Street as Liz Truss's chief of staff. Fullbrook left CT Group earlier in 2022. During Fullbrook's time as a director of CT Group the company ran a Worldwide campaign to promote the burning of coal on behalf of mining company Glencore. The Saudi Arabian government paid CT Group millions of pounds for work in the UK. Russian oligarchs keen to improve their reputations in the west were also clients of CT Group during Fullbrook's tenure there. Fullbrook left office as Downing Street chief of staff after Truss' resignation as prime minister, making him the shortest-serving chief of staff. He was succeeded by

Liam Booth-Smith Liam David Scott Booth-Smith, Baron Booth-Smith (born 1987), is a British political adviser who served as Downing Street Chief of Staff under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak from October 2022 to July 2024. He previously served as Sunak's ''de facto'' ...

Personal life

Fullbrook lives in Winchfield. He is married to

Lorraine Fullbrook Lorraine Fullbrook, Baroness Fullbrook (born 28 July 1959) is a British Conservative former MP for South Ribble, first elected in 2010. Educated at Glasgow Caledonian University, Mrs Fullbrook was formerly the Conservative Leader of Hart Counc ...

, a former Conservative MP, who was made a life peer by Boris Johnson in 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fullbrook, Mark 1962 births Alumni of the University of Warwick British consultants British lobbyists British special advisers Conservative Party (UK) people Downing Street chiefs of staff Living people Spouses of life peers