The Tory peer and the heat pump job he failed to clear

Conservative peer Martin Callanan, despite serving as a shadow foreign minister in the Lords, has taken up a string of private sector roles since leaving government last year – including one with a heat pump firm which he failed to clear with Acoba, the now-axed watchdog responsible for vetting post-ministerial appointments.

In July 2023, Callanan – once a Brexit minister under David Davis – was shuffled out of his role as a junior energy minister. Since then, he has joined NorthPoint Strategy, a lobbying firm, and Asquind Ltd, a company part-owned by former Russian defence official Alexander Temerko.

But it is his recent role as non-executive chairman of Installio Ltd, a heat pump company, that is raising the most serious questions.

Despite continuing to publicly champion heat pumps as vital to net zero, forgetful Callanan has sometimes failed to disclose that he is on Installio’s payroll, penning articles cheering the technology for Politics Home and Business Green without mentioning it – a breach of transparency expectations, especially for a shadow minister. A LinkedIn post even shows him posing with Installio founders on the terrace of the Houses of Parliament, prompting concerns about a conflict of interests.

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A letter sent to Callanan from Isabel Doverty, interim chair of Acoba, earlier this month reminded him that all former ministers are required to seek advice about taking up such roles for two years after leaving office, and that he had not done that.

“Applicants have a personal responsibility to understand and comply with the rules and to manage the propriety of appointments taken up after leaving government service,” she writes. “You did not submit an application for Acoba’s advice on the role as non-executive director. This appointment was made public on various posts on several platforms, including on Installio’s LinkedIn profile.

“Acoba wrote to you requesting an explanation and you failed to respond.”

The issue has now been raised with the Cabinet Office. So far there’s been no response from the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch. If the Conservative Party wants to claim any credibility on standards in public life, the question is simple: will Badenoch fire him?