Defence secretary would 'shut down access to ministers'
– Defence Secretary Philip HammondThere is a two year period during which ex-officers are required to take advice off the Cabinet Office Committee, which looks at business links. If we find that people are not taking that advice, we will look at steps to shut down their access to ministers and officials. But all of the companies that these people would be offering services to rely on the MoD as their principal customer. If we were to make it clear that the kind of lobbying that is being talked about here will damage them, rather than benefit them, that would be rather effective.
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