The Rt Hon. James

James Arbuthnot recently stepped down as a Conservative a Member of Parliament, having been an MP for 28 years, and after playing a very active role in defence and security matters is shortly to go to the .

Defence and Security

During his time in the House of Commons James was Minister for Defence Procurement from 1995 to 1997. He sat for a time on the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, concurrently, from 2001 to 2005, serving on the Intelligence And Security Committee, which oversees the work of the Intelligence Agencies within the ring of secrecy. Then from 2005 to 2014 he served as Chairman of the and is a Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a globally leading forum in the UK for national and international defence and security.

James is regularly invited to and speaks at defence and security conferences around the world, including the Defence and Security Equipment International, Defence Königswinter, Smart Cities Conferences and Cyber Conferences. He is a member of the Board of Advisers of the U.S. Electric Infrastructure Security Council, an organisation that advises on the vulnerabilities in the global electricity structure and how to solve these issues. James is considered one of the UK’s top experts on defence.

Early life

James was born in in 1952. Following his education at Eton College, James read law at Trinity College, Cambridge and studied for the Bar at the College of Law. He was called to the bar in 1975 and practised at the Chancery Bar in Lincoln’s Inn from 1976 to 1992. He undertook cases in the fields of tax law, company law, land law, trusts and wills.

House of Commons

James Arbuthnot served as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Wanstead and Woodford for 10 years from 1987 and then for North East Hampshire for the next 18 years, retiring from the Commons in April 2015.

James served as a member of Her Majesty’s Government under Prime Minister , acting as Government Whip (1992-1994), Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department of Social Security (1994-1995) and Minister of State for Defence Procurement (1995-1997). He spent a further 4 years as opposition Chief Whip from 1997-2001.

In 2012 he was appointed the British Chairman of the British/Spanish Tertulias, a top-level Anglo-Hispanic annual forum. It brings together senior ministers, parliamentarians, academics, business leaders, scientists and artists to discuss topical issues.

His appointment as a Life Peer was announced in August 2015. He will be ennobled on 1 October 2015.

Other Board Membership

James Arbuthnot is a sitting member of the advisory board of Thales UK. Thales Group is the 10th largest defence contractor in the world.

James also serves as Non-Executive Director of Gusbourne Estates. Started in 2004, its wine is growing into a globally recognised brand.

SC Strategy Ltd.

James Arbuthnot joined Lord Carlile CBE, QC and Sir John Scarlett KCMG, OBE (former head of SIS/MI6) at SC Strategy Ltd. in September 2015.

SC Strategy Ltd. is a consultancy providing advice to clients (many foreign) on political risk issues around the world and also on strategic placement in the UK. Their clients include a Middle East sovereign wealth fund, and high worth investors in the UK.

The business is run on a small-scale and very confidential basis.

James’s private office is at the premises of SC Strategy Ltd. at 12 Gray’s Inn Square, London WC1.

Family

James has a son and three daughters. He lives with his wife, Emma who serves as the Deputy Chief Magistrate. She has responsibility for 300-or-so Magistrates’ Courts and Deputy Magistrates’ Courts across England and Wales.