Decision

Advice letter: William James Timpson, Trustee, Alex Timpson Trust

Published 5 October 2026

1. BUSINESS APPOINTMENT APPLICATION: Lord Timpson, former Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, the Ministry of Justice – Unpaid appointment as Trustee, Alex Timpson Trust 

Thank you for your application, under the Government’s Business Appointment Rules for Former Ministers (the Rules), for my advice on taking up an unpaid, part-time role as Trustee for Alex Timpson Trust, a registered charity connected to Timpson Limited. You stated in your application that as Trustee you would be collectively responsible for the governance, strategic direction and oversight of the charity. 

The purpose of the Rules, as you will be aware, is to protect the integrity of government and to avoid any suspicion that those who have served in government might profit improperly from that experience or that an employer might gain unfair advantage through privileged access to government. To achieve these aims, I designate conditions that former ministers must follow. 

I should place on record your acknowledgement that you departed from the Rules by taking up the appointment before seeking advice. Applications for advice are not normally accepted retrospectively. However, you have provided written assurance that your work to date for Alex Timpson Trust does not contravene the conditions set out below. Accordingly, I am issuing this advice on the basis that, in this instance, there have been no significantly damaging consequences.

The Government recognises that the risk to government integrity of certain roles – namely unpaid work, non-executive charitable appointments, academic positions, journalism, recurrent media appearances and registration with a speaker agency – can generally be managed effectively by applying a set of standard conditions. Accordingly, I consider that these standard conditions are appropriate in this instance, recognising that it is your responsibility to ensure that all such conditions are demonstrably applied in practice:

• Privileged information condition – You should not draw on (disclose or use for the benefit of yourself or Alex Timpson Trust, including its related parties) any privileged information available to you from your time in ministerial office. This is an ongoing duty irrespective of the time elapsed since you left office.

• Lobbying condition – For two years from your last day in office, you should not become personally involved in lobbying the UK Government or its arm’s length bodies on behalf of Alex Timpson Trust (including its related parties); nor should you make use, directly or indirectly, of your contacts in the government and/or ministerial office to influence policy, secure business/funding or otherwise unfairly advantage Alex Timpson Trust (including its related parties). 

• Contracts and bids condition – For two years from your last day in office, you should not undertake any work with Alex Timpson Trust (including its related parties) that involves providing advice on the terms of, or with regard to the subject matter of a bid with, or contract relating directly to the work of, the UK Government or its arm’s length bodies.

I would be grateful if you would note the following points:

• My advice is not an endorsement of the appointment.

• The advice relates solely to your previous role in government; it is separate from rules governing the registration of consultant lobbyists, from the Code of Conduct and Rules of the House of Commons and from the House of Lords Code of Conduct. It is your personal responsibility to understand any other rules and regulations you may be subject to in parallel with my advice. 

• By ‘privileged information’, I mean official information to which you had access as a consequence of holding office and which is not publicly available. You are also reminded that you may be subject to other duties of confidentiality, whether under the Official Secrets Act, the Ministerial Code or otherwise.

• By ‘related parties’, I mean any parent companies, subsidiaries, clients and/or other partners as may be relevant.

• As set out in the Rules, the lobbying restriction means that former ministers ‘should not engage in communication with government (ministers, civil servants, including special advisers, and other relevant officials/public office holders) – wherever it takes place – with a view to influencing a government decision, policy or contract award/grant in relation to their own interests or the interests of the organisation by which they are employed, or to whom they are contracted or with which they hold office’.

As you have already taken up the appointment, my secretariat will publish this letter. I remind you that, for as long as you remain subject to the Rules, they oblige you to apply for my advice about any appointments or employment you wish to take up, including unpaid roles. If you are unsure whether advice is required under the Rules, you should consult my secretariat in the first instance. You must also inform us if you propose to extend or otherwise change the nature of your role as, depending on the circumstances, it may be necessary for you to make a fresh application. 

Yours sincerely,

Sir Laurie Magnus CBE

Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards