A former top officer at Defence Equipment and Support has been cleared to set up his own consultancy less than six months after leaving crown service at the Ministry of Defence arm's length body.
Air Marshall Sir Simon Bollom was DE&S’ chief of materiel for air services until the end of September last year, but sought permission from anti-corruption watchdog the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments to set up his own firm offering specialist aviation advice.
Bollom also sought permission to take up work commissions with engineering firm CH2M and consultancy KPMG via the process, designed to vet former ministers and senior officials’ post Whitehall appointments.
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ACOBA approved Bollom’s creation of the Altus Advisory consultancy but said that the seniority of his position at DE&S – where he was responsible for the purchase and support of all fixed-wing and fast-jet aircraft – meant the consultancy should face a two-year ban on working in the UK defence market.
However it said the committee would consider “waiving the ban on a case-by-case basis” if the specific circumstances of a commission warranted such an approach.
It said that while the KPMG commission involved work for RAF Brize Norton, Bollom had not been involved with the selection process that picked the consultant for the project. It added that the CH2M commission was not defence-related.
ACOBA secretariat Nicola Richardson said defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon had agreed with its recommendations, which underscore that – with the exception of the KPMG contract – Bollom should not work in the UK defence sector for two years from his last day in crown service.
In relation to his KPMG commission, ACOBA stipulated that Bollom’s work should be confined to Project Gateway at Brize Norton and prohibited any business development support, presentations at internal KPMG knowledge-sharing events or similar activities.