Former Tory chairman Norman Fowler comes out in support of Saatchi

by Staff, Brand Republic 09-Aug-05, 11:45

LONDON - Norman Fowler, the former Conservative chairman and social services secretary, has come out in support of Lord Maurice Saatchi following criticism of his agency billing the Tory Party £2.5m for services in the run-up to the General Election.

Writing in a letter to The Times editor, Lord Fowler describes the criticism as "unjust", saying that few people have such a long record in helping the Tories.

"His advertising campaigns substantially helped the party's victories in the 1979 and 1992 election campaigns but his contribution has gone way beyond that," he writes.

"Maurice Saatchi was crucial in phasing the 1992 advertising bill and helping in every other way which was compatible with his responsibility to his shareholders. Surely at the last election the party understood that it was contracting with a public company."

Lord Fowler also hits back at claims that Lord Saatchi has been disloyal in saying that the Tories have lessons to learn from the recent election defeat.

"I would have thought that was self evident. I had also understood that learning some of those lessons was what we were doing just now," he said.

The Times has reported that M&C Saatchi faces the prospect of losing the Tories' advertising account when its contract expires at the end of this month. Senior members of the party plan to urge the new leader, who will be elected in November, to move the work elsewhere.

Lord Fowler was chairman of the Tory party from 1992 to 1994, and served as social services secretary under Margaret Thatcher from 1981 to 1987. He was made a life peer in 2001.

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