Spelman shuts down food lobby firm 

The new Secretary of State set up the company, Cormack, Spelman and Associates, with her husband Mark Spelman in 1989.

A year ago she transferred her shares to her husband and resigned her directorship but she still attracted criticism from a campaign group calling for transparency in politics.

The Sunlight Centre wrote to Dame Helen Ghosh, permanent secretary for Defra, on May 14 questioning Mrs Spelman’s role at the lobbying firm.

A week later, and even though the company had been essentially dormant for years, her husband applied to Companies House to close the business down.

A spokesman in Mrs Spelman’s office said the ‘wheels were in motion’ to fully dissolve the business.

Mrs Spelman has also faced down criticism due to her husband’s job as director at Accenture.

The global consulting firm is in charge of the much maligned RPA computer system which cost £350 million to install and has been blamed for a number of single farm payment glitches.

Defra maintained Mrs Spelman had been open about the business interests of herself and her husband and that any potential conflict of interest would be dealt with by the parliament’s code of conduct.

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