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Digby Jones
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Digby Marritt Jones, Baron Jones of Birmingham (born 28 October 1955) is a British businessman and politician. He has served as Director of the CBI (2000–06) and Minister of State for Trade (2007–08). He became an ambassador for the government's National Economic Council following a reshuffle in October 2008.
in Birmingham, he was educated at Bromsgrove School where he was Head Boy, and read Law at University College London, where he provided much innocent amusement with his comedy turns at student union meetings, graduating with an upper second class honours.
s was chairman of the CBI's West Midlands Regional Council and became the first serving regional chairman to be appointed director-general.
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Encyclopedia
Digby Marritt Jones, Baron Jones of Birmingham (born 28 October 1955) is a British businessman and politician. He has served as Director of the CBI (2000–06) and Minister of State for Trade (2007–08). He became an ambassador for the government's National Economic Council following a reshuffle in October 2008.
Education
Born in Birmingham, he was educated at Bromsgrove School where he was Head Boy, and read Law at University College London, where he provided much innocent amusement with his comedy turns at student union meetings, graduating with an upper second class honours.
At the CBI
Jones was chairman of the CBI's West Midlands Regional Council and became the first serving regional chairman to be appointed director-general. He was Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) between 1 January 2000 and 30 June 2006. He was knighted in 2005. He then went on to act as an advisor to Barclays Capital, Ford, Deloitte and J. C. Bamford (JCB).
Jones acted as a non-executive director for the troubled IT contractor iSoft from before 2002 when he oversaw very high pay-outs to the top directors, until his resignation in July 2005, when he stayed on as an advisor. When an independent confidential report was commissioned prior to its merger with Torex in 2003 suggested accountancy irregularities, personal assurances by Jones were called upon to save the deal. Following the collapse in the value of iSoft and investigations into its accountancy practices, Jones regected accusations that he helped to cover up early signs of problems and explained: "There is a limit to what a non-executive can know... They have to rely on what advisers tell them and what the executive team tells them. It is important that people understand this."
Political career
On 29 June 2007, Jones became a Minister of State for Trade in both the newly-created Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Foreign Office on 29 June 2007. He was appointed as a Government Minister in a move to create a government "of all talents". The appointment was heavily criticised for he was one the main opponents of the minimum wage. It was announced he would take up the Labour whip in the House of Lords but he will not be joining the Labour Party. On 10 July 2007 he was created a life peer as Baron Jones of Birmingham, of Alvechurch and of Bromsgrove in the County of Worcestershire, and took his seat in the Lords that same day. He styles himself Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham.
Jones had considered running for Mayor of London after being encouraged by a group of prominent businessmen. He was also approached by the Conservative Party about becoming their official candidate, but soon rejected their proposal.
Lord Jones announced his intention to resign as Minister of Trade in April 2008. He resigned in October 2008 and was appointed to be an ambassador for the Prime Minister's new National Economic Council. In testimony to the Public Administration Committee he said that his time as a junior minister was "one of the most dehumanising and depersonalising experiences" anyone could have, and that he had been amazed by how many civil servants he thought deserved the sack.
On January 16 2009, in a subsequent article in the Daily Telegraph, Lord Jones is described as "the walking personification of the spirit of big business at its corporatist worst".
"Lord, the man can talk. It’s like standing under that Italian road sign that warns “Caduta sassi”. Falling rubble."
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/simon-carr/simon-carr-digby8217s-verbal-mudslide-takes-care-of-business-1630324.html
Other Posts
Lord Jones is a Corporate Ambassador for the Cancer Research UK Corporate Ambassadors. He is also a Fellow of UNICEF. He is President of the Diversity Works initiative - a programme led by the disability organisation Scope, a Diamond Ambassador for Mencap's WorkRight initiative, designed to spread the message of equality for disabled people, a Vice-President of Birmingham Hospice, and a Patron of Lifecycle UK. He is Member of Council (trustee) of the Royal Institution.
He is a Director of Leicester F.C. and a fan of Aston Villa FC. He is a Vice President of The Birmingham Civic Society and President of the .
In Novemember 2006, Jones was appointed "Business Adviser" to Prince Andrew, receiving £1,000 a month from the royal payroll for working one day a month.
Fellowships
Lord Jones is a Fellow of University College London (2004); an Honorary Fellow of Cardiff University (2004); and an Honorary Doctor of the University of Central England (2002), the University of Birmingham (2002), the University of Manchester, Institute of Science and Technology (2003), the University of Hertfordshire (2004), Middlesex University (2005), Sheffield Hallam University (2005), Aston University (2006), the University of Hull (2006), Queen’s University, Belfast (2006), Warwick University (2006), Bradford University (2006), Wolverhampton University (2006), Nottingham University and Loughborough University (2007). He is President of the University College London Campaign, a visiting professor at the University of Hull Business School and Chairman of the Birmingham Business School .
View of unions
Media appearances
Digby Jones was the guest on BBC Radio's Desert Island Discs, broadcast on 21 May 2006.
Styles & Honours
- Mr Digby Jones (1955-2004)
- Sir Digby Jones (2004-2007)
- The Rt. Hon. The Lord Jones of Birmingham (2007-)
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