Tory MP earns £900 an hour from arms firm run by bribery suspect
Posted: 21st January 2024
Conservative MP is set to earn £900 an hour from a North Macedonian arms company whose owner was embroiled in a bribery scandal, openDemocracy can reveal.
Mark Pritchard, who has been the MP for The Wrekin since 2005, began working for the firm ATS Group in November – but only declared it in Parliament’s transparency register last week.
ATS Group’s owner and CEO was arrested in Belgrade in 2019 following a months-long investigation by Serbian authorities into allegations of bribery over the alleged theft of technical documents from a rival arms manufacturer in Užice, Serbia.
In the latest register of MPs’ interests, Pritchard described the firm as an “industrial manufacturing and technology business”. But the firm’s website reveals it is a weapons maker, producing ballistics, ammunition and plant equipment for the production of ammunition.
The MP, who previously sat on the Security and Intelligence Committee, said the company will pay him £9,000 a month for “marketing advisory services”, but declined to provide any further details.
When questioned by openDemocracy, Pritchard also refused to say whether he was aware of the bribery scandal involving ATS prior to accepting the role, which he has committed ten hours a month to.
The shadow leader of the Commons, Labour MP Lucy Powell, told openDemocracy that Pritchard had “clear questions to answer”. She said his arrangements with ATS Group “bring Parliament into disrepute” and accused the Conservative Party of being “mired in sleaze”.
It is the latest additional salary for Pritchard, whose declaration of interests says he also works for a Washington non-profit focused on the “rule of law in Eurasian countries,” as well as two US energy investment firms with significant interests in Bulgarian gas and oil.
Records show he currently earns almost £16,000 a month through these four roles.
Steve Goodrich, head of research and investigations at Transparency International UK, said there are “few legitimate reasons for taking outside employment while in Parliament”.
He said: “Working for an arms manufacturer while serving in Parliament raises serious questions about the risks of undue influence over national defence, security, and foreign policy decision-making. The Commons should ban second jobs, except for limited circumstances, to avoid the further erosion of trust in politics.’
Pritchard is an influential figure with an extensive network of contacts across Europe, due to his long-term involvement with a number of intergovernmental organisations which bring together lawmakers from across Europe and the world to collaborate on a range of issues including energy and defence.
The MP currently heads up the UK delegation to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, and was the organisation’s special representative to South East Europe between 2018 and 2020. The OSCE is made up of member states from Europe, the Americas and Asia.
Campaigners against the arms trade have said MPs working for a weapons manufacturer shows “everything that’s wrong with our current parliamentary system”.
Emily Apple, media coordinator at Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT), said: “An elected representative should not also be a highly paid representative of an arms dealer. This position isn’t about whatever marketing skills Pritchard may have, but using the connections and influence that come with his position as an MP in a trade in death and destruction.”
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Today, Pritchard told openDemocracy that his personal company, MAP Advisory Limited, no longer provides services to the two US-based energy firms, and said he will update the parliamentary register accordingly.
He added: “Over 210 MPs receive declared income from non-parliamentary work. It is both permitted and fully regulated.”
High profile
According to press reports in Serbia, ATS Group owner and CEO Shefshet Demirovski was arrested at the Hilton Hotel in Belgrade, Serbia in November 2019 on suspicion of bribery. Police said he was caught paying a former factory worker from arms manufacturer Prvi Partizan for confidential plans and technical documents relating to the production of 12.7mm calibre weapons and ammunition. Demirovski, the former employee and two current employees of the factory also alleged to be involved in the plot were arrested.
The case took on a high profile in Serbia as the information allegedly stolen by Demirovski, a North Macedonian citizen, related to the production of ammunition for the Serbian armed forces.
Demirovski reportedly met with the former engineer at the Belgrade hotel Konstantine the Great, where police say he handed over 30,000 euros. Reports from law enforcement claim Demirovski had promised to hand over an additional 30,000 euros upon receipt of the documents at their next meeting, at the Belgrade Hilton, where the pair were arrested.
It was reported the following month that Demirovski had been released from custody having paid bail of 200,000 euros. He was placed under house arrest in Serbia and his passport was confiscated. He was also ordered to report to a Belgrade police station twice a month.
Speaking at the time, the vice president of Serbia’s opposition Freedom and Justice Party criticised the government for accepting the 200,000 euros.
The bail conditions were extended in December 2020, but Demirovski was released the following month after he paid a fine reportedly worth 250,000 euros, according to Serbian newspaper Novosti.
In November last year, the same newspaper raised questions about the decision to dismiss charges following the payment.
ATS is a multinational organisation headquartered in Macedonia that develops a range of military equipment and manufacturing technology for “some of the most elite military and law enforcement professionals in the world, as well as for civilians,” according to its website.
According to press reports, most of ATS’ exports go to Turkiye, but the firm has exhibited at top international arms fairs and has met with officials from the Azerbaijani and Qatari governments in recent years. The firm also has a US arm, headquartered in St Louis.
openDemocracy has contacted ATS Group for comment.