Lobbyist had access to parliament for 18 months due to “administrative error”

A lobbyist who recently worked for a firm part-owned by two sanctioned oligarchs has inadvertently had access to parliament for nearly 18 months owing to “an administrative error”.

Mark Fullbrook, a registered corporate lobbyist and former chief of staff to Liz Truss during her short-lived premiership, held a parliamentary pass sponsored by his wife, Lorraine Fullbrook, from at least November 2022. 

Baroness Fullbrook, who was made a life peer by Boris Johnson not long after her husband helped run his 2019 leadership campaign, has been on an extended leave of absence since December 2022. 

The pass should have been cancelled at this point, but it was not deactivated until May 2024, almost a year and a half later. Sources told Tortoise they had seen Fullbrook on the Westminster estate, in areas including Portcullis House – the hub of parliamentary meetings – during this time. 

A House of Lords spokesperson told Tortoise this was “due to an administrative error”. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Fullbrook.

Spouses and partners who are granted a parliamentary pass have many of the same perks as MPs and peers. They are allowed to bring up to six guests onto the estate, can use restaurants and bars to entertain their guests, and have special access to parts of the House of Lords chamber.  

Crucially, the pass grants ready access to ministers, MPs, peers and political advisers. However, sponsors and their spouses must both confirm that the pass will only be used for “social purposes” and not for work.

During this period, Fullbrook Strategies has registered a number of clients including LTS Advisory, a subsidiary of the LetterOne Group co-founded by Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven. Both men were both sanctioned by the UK in March 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

LTS was listed as a client of Fullbrook’s from October 2023 until the second quarter of 2024. A LetterOne spokesperson recently said this related to a “short” project last year, with Fullbrook subsequently providing only “a news clipping service”. 

Fullbrook has also represented the firearms giant Sig Sauer, the wind farms developer Cerulean Winds, the Moroccan embassy in the UK, and Santé Global, a sourcing and supply company. 

Santé is in a £100 million dispute with the UK government over a Covid contract to provide lateral flow tests. The contract was terminated over concerns about worker safety in the Chinese factory where they were made.