Hugo Swire

Minister of State for Northern Ireland

In May 2010 he was appointed Minister of State for Northern Ireland in the newly elected Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government headed by Prime Minister David Cameron.^[10]

In October 2011, Swire, and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Owen Paterson, boycotted a meeting of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly held at the Grand Hotel, Brighton, as the hotel had been the scene of the 1984 IRA attack on the Conservative party leadership.^[11]

In December 2011, Swire criticised a government agency, the Rural Payments Agency, based at Clyst St Mary in his East Devon constituency, for allegedly banning Christmas decorations from their offices.^[12]

Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

Swire was made Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 4 September 2012. On 6 September 2013, Swire sent letters to the South China Morning Post and Ming Pao, commenting on the universal suffrage of Hong Kong SAR, emphasising the importance of democracy. Moreover, he added that he would provide any support towards the establishment of universal suffrage in Hong Kong.^[13]

In January 2015, Hong Kong’s leaders caused diplomatic ‘outrage’ after declining to meet him to discuss political reform. Swire believed the Chinese government feared it would cause pro-democracy unrest, though the purpose of the visit was also to support trade.^[14] Swire resigned from his ministerial post on 15 July 2016 following the sacking of several other ministers who were considered to be close to David Cameron. He had tweeted: "Not a good time to be a Cameroon. The tumbrils are rolling again!"^[15]

Swire was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 2016 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours.^[16]

Controversy

Various aspects of Swire's parliamentary expenses have generated adverse comments from critics. He was criticised for having the joint highest Additional Cost Allowance in the country in 2002/03, but argued that it was legal and that he had not financially benefited from the arrangement as he only rented the property in his constituency that the bulk of the costs related to.^[17] He was featured in articles on questionable expenses claims in The Telegraph,^[18] Guardian^[19] and BBC website^[20] in 2009, with attention made to his claims for a designer laptop case, an opera booklet and a satellite navigation system. Swire argued that the claims were sound and that he had not been asked to pay any of them back.^[21]

Although Parliament has banned new MPs from employing family members since June 2017, Swire continues to employ his wife as his Senior Researcher/Parliamentary Assistant on a salary of around £40,000.^[22] He argued in 2009 that family members could add value and that his wife has an 'extraordinary knowledge of the constituency having worked for me'.^[23]

Swire was criticised after undercover footage was released of him mocking poor people and joking about getting luxury cars on MPs’ expenses at the Black and White Ball, a Conservative Party fundraising event in 2015.^[24]

Swire became Chairman of the Conservative Middle East Council (CMEC) in September 2016, having previously been a member of the group. In June 2016, he accepted a donation of £10,000 from the wife of a billionaire with links to the leadership of Saudi Arabia. The journalist Peter Oborne has criticised the direction of CMEC away from its earlier focus on Palestine, to greater interest on the Gulf States, including Saudi Arabia.^[25]

In 2016, the awarding of a Knighthood to Swire by the outgoing Prime Minister, David Cameron, was criticised by various newspapers, such as The Sun and Daily Telegraph, on the grounds that Cameron was 'rewarding his mates', rather than using the honours system to promote the public interest.^[26][27]

Other

Swire correctly predicted in November 2016 that Donald Trump would win the election for President of the United States of America.^[28]

Although a eurosceptic, Swire supported the official position of his party and campaigned for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union before the EU membership referendum on 23 June 2016.^[29] Since the result was announced, Swire has continued to support the party leadership and now advocates leaving the European Union. He has never rebelled against the Government in the current Parliament.^[30]