Anthony Bailey (PR advisor)

Anthony John James Bailey, OBE, GCSS, GCHS (born 13 January 1970) is a British public relations consultant.

Anthony Bailey

OBE
Bailey speaking at the Faith in Sport Olympic Gala Dinner in London (2012)
Born (1970-01-13) 13 January 1970
London, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationPublic relations consultant
Spouse(s)
Marie-Therese von Hohenberg
​
(
m. 2007; div. 2018)
Websiteanthonybailey.org

Personal life and Background

Bailey was born in London on 13 January 1970 and brought up in Ruislip.[1] His father, Colin, was an engineer and instructor at FÁS, an Irish state body responsible for training the unemployed.[2] Before entering public relations, Bailey sold mens' suits.[3] His former wife, Marie-Therese von Hohenberg, is a great-granddaughter of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.[4]

Public relations

Bailey is chairman of Anthony Bailey Consulting, a public relations company. Previous positions include chairman of his own company Eligo International, and senior account director for communications firm Burson-Marsteller, which he joined in 1993.[1] Eligo Consulting was dissolved in January 2016 with their final accounts showing funds of -£85,000.[5] Anthony Bailey Consulting did not trade until 2016, and in accounts posted that year showed liabilities of more than £40,000.[6]

Bailey is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.[7]

In 2007 The Observer referred to Bailey as a "PR guru who is one of the most influential men you have never heard of" and "a key player in the world of Catholic and Middle East politics."[1] Bailey's descriptions of his own occupation have included "Public Relations Consultant" (2010), "Royal And Diplomatic Consultant" (2011), and "Head R. Order Of Knighthood" (2004).[8]

Politics

Bailey was co-president of British Influence and a supporter of Britain's membership of the European Union and the Commonwealth.[9] Following controversy over his alleged abuse of honours, Bailey was removed as co-president of British Influence.[10] He was a supporter of the Conservative Party until 1999 from which time he aligned himself with the Labour Party. [11] He made a substantial donation to the failed leadership campaign of David Miliband in 2010.[12]

Charities and institutions

In the 1990s, Bailey "revived" the so-called "Delegation for Great Britain and Ireland of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George", under the authority of Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, who is the "Franco-Neapolitan branch" claimant to the headship of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.[13] (The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies has controlled no territory since the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was suppressed in 1860. Since 1960 the headship of the House has been disputed.) In 2009 Bailey was appointed "magistral delegate" of the Delegation, and the organisation has awarded him other honours.[14] Bailey has never been an officer or member of the long-established version of the Order, which is under the authority of Prince Pedro, Duke of Calabria, the "Hispano-Neapolitan branch" claimant to the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. The longstanding version of the Order has no connection with Bailey, nor with his business activities, nor with the order of which he is described as “delegate”.[15]

Bailey was appointed in 1999 as executive chairman to Painting & Patronage.[16] (The UK company "Painting and Patronage" was dissolved in 2014.[17]) In 2012, Bailey was a director of the United Learning Trust.[18] He was, until 2016, a director of St Mary's University.[19]

In 2016 Bailey was appointed President of the Executive Council of the Portuguese Centenary Appeal.[20] He is also a Patron of the Faith Forum for London.[21]

Controversies

In 1995 police recorded his telephone conversations with a client, who claimed to be a Libyan prince. Bailey was accused of blackmailing the client, but the case was dismissed before it got to court.[1] Bailey complained to the Press Complaints Commission about the way this was reported in the Daily Mail in 2010; in resolution, the PCC negotiated a statement from the Mail that it had omitted some details in reporting these circumstances, and that it apologised for any distress caused.[22]

Bailey claimed to be Ambassador-at-Large for The Gambia between 2004 and 2007,[23][24] though the Gambian High Commission in London said at the time that they don't know much about him and "He has no office here".[25]

According to the Prime Minister of Grenada, Keith Mitchell, Bailey asked to be made the country's ambassador to the Holy See, which Mitchell rejected.[26]

In 2005 it emerged that a £500,000 donation Bailey had made to the Labour party had been rejected by its chief fundraiser, Lord Levy, who allegedly feared the money had come from foreign businessmen. Bailey insisted the money was his own and issued legal proceedings. He later said: "The Labour party has apologised unreservedly for any distress that the affair caused". A subsequent donation of £50,000 was accepted.[1]

In 2014, Bailey was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of the Nation, by the Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda.[27] In May 2016, the British tabloid The Mail on Sunday reported that Bailey was accused of incorrectly using an Antiguan knighthood as if it were a British title. (Since 1813 Buckingham Palace and the Foreign Office do not allow the use of foreign knighthoods in the United Kingdom.[28][29])

Bailey also stated that he had Antiguan citizenship on the basis of his Antiguan passport, issued when he was appointed as their special economic envoy to the European Union in 2015.[30] The Antiguan government did confirm that Bailey’s passport inaccurately stated that he is a national of Antigua and Barbuda. However, Bailey was never granted Antiguan citizenship, whether by investment or otherwise.[31]

The British firm that prints the passports apparently assumed that anyone to be issued an Antigua and Barbuda passport would be a national of that country, and they were not informed that this did not apply to Bailey.[31] Bailey's knighthood and his appointment as an economic envoy then became subject to review by the Antiguan Governor General.[31] On 21 July 2017 his Antiguan knighthood was annulled.[27]

Bailey was granted a Grenadian knighthood in 2015.[32] Following a further investigation by the Mail on Sunday[33], a review by the government of Grenada was conducted and after taking legal advice, the knighthood was rescinded in August 2016.[34] In December 2016 Private Eye reported that Bailey's lawyers were issuing legal warning letters to any Caribbean local newspapers which had reported on the knighthood controversies.[35]

Awards

Revoked Awards

Publications
  • "How do we tell the real story?", pp. 61–69 in Having Faith in Foreign Policy, London, (2007) [44]
gollark: They're on the ground.
gollark: ... *how*?
gollark: Earth is quite big, so you would need to cool it down a lot.
gollark: Radiating heat into space to cool Earth sounds impractical.
gollark: Many things are on Netflix.

References
  1. Jamie Doward, "PR guru behind Brown cash drive", The Observer 27 May 2007, accessed June 14, 2016
  2. "A royal match: how Anthony wooed his Austrian princess". Irish Independent. 29 January 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  3. "PR guru behind Brown cash drive". the Guardian. 27 May 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  4. Genealogy table accessed 21 June 2016.
  5. "ELIGO INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – Filing history (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  6. "ANTHONY BAILEY LTD – Filing history (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  7. Public relations register – website of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations
  8. Companies House. Anthony John James BAILEY. https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/ATTybqoFMvUd7C5WNn4RExkde6E/appointments accessed 9 4 2017
  9. "British Influence" website Archived 20 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 20 June 2016
  10. "Knightly Loss of British Influence". Guido Fawkes. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  11. Muir, Hugh (26 August 2010). "Diary". The Guardian.
  12. Muir, Hugh (26 August 2010). "Diary". The Guardian.
  13. "Catholic Order disowns honours awards to Caribbean leaders". Cayman Island News.
  14. Website of Constantinian Order, accessed 20 June 2016
  15. Guy Stair Sainty, vice-grand chancellor of the Order Archived 13 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine. As reported in http://antiguaobserver.com/catholic-order-disowns-honours-awards-to-caribbean-leaders/ Antigua Observer. August 24, 2016. "The Order purportedly revived in the UK by Bailey is described on its website as the “Delegation for Great Britain and Ireland”; however, in a follow up email, Guy Stair Sainty, vice-grand chancellor of the Order, said it has no connection with Bailey, his business activities or the order of which he is described as “delegate”. Sainty explained that the Constantinian Order concentrates primarily on its Catholic mission and never “exchanges” its membership with anyone for any reason, since this would be contrary to the statutes and character of the Order as a Catholic, chivalric, confraternal institution. “Neither are we interested in expensive entertainments nor in constant publicity, which is why we have not issued any public statement until now, when the good name of our Order has repeatedly been the subject of so much critical commentary,” he added. Sainty went on to note that the grant of awards for “’interfaith’ services or whatever” to the likes of President Assad of Syria and former President Saleh of Yemen and various state officials in other countries, including the Caribbean, has no worth. “The self-evident conflict of interest between Mr Bailey’s role as a businessman apparently acting on behalf of states for fees, yet exchanging decorations of this controversial Constantinian Order … and then claiming awards in return would appear to be entirely contrary to the spirit of this ancient Catholic institution,” he said."
  16. "Painting and Patronage" website, accessed 20 June 2016
  17. "PAINTING & PATRONAGE LIMITED – Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  18. Companies House
  19. St Mary's University
  20. http://www.portugueseappeal.org/comissao/?lang=pt-pt%7CPortuguese Centenary Appeal
  21. http://faithsforum.com/patrons%7CFaith%5B%5D Forum for London
  22. Press Complaints Commission website, accessed 20 June 2016.
  23. "Ambassador for Hire". ES magazine. London, England. 29 February 2008.
  24. "Son of Tramore couple to marry Austrian Princess". The Munster Express. Waterford, Ireland. 26 January 2007.
  25. "Pendennis | 7 Days | The Observer". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  26. Brown, David. "Labour peer 'helped PR consultant friend secure knighthood'". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  27. "Honours and Awards: Office of the Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda". The London Gazette. No. 62016. 7 August 2017. p. 15017.
  28. London Gazette, 1 June 2016, accessed 9 June 2016
  29. "Something of the Knight...", Private Eye, no, 1420, 10 June 2016
  30. Sir Anthony Bailey defends his Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship – The Antigua Observer, June 1, 2016
  31. "Another Caribbean diplomatic passport raises questions", Caribbean News Now! website, 8 June 2016, accessed 10 June 2016.
  32. "Grenada becomes embroiled in Caribbean knighthoods scandal". Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  33. "Baroness's 'dear friend' stripped of knighthood". The Mail on Sunday. 21 August 2016. p. 32.
  34. "Sir Anthony's Grenada knighthood to be revoked". 18 August 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  35. "Bailey's bottle". Private Eye. London: Pressdram Ltd. 9 December 2016.
  36. Association Members - website of the Association of Papal Orders in Great Britain
  37. ACTA BENEDICTI PP. XVI, 5 Septembris 2008 – ACTA APOSTOLICAE SEDIS
  38. Order dedicated to the Holy Land invests new members - website of the newspaper The Irish Catholic
  39. Investiture Ceremony - 2017 Archived 17 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine - website of Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in Ireland
  40. "People 2007-8 Archive:Awards, Appointments, Elections and Honours", University College London website, accessed 20 June 2016
  41. The Catholic Herald. Archived 26 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  42. "Exchange of honours between Constantinian Order and Colombia". Independent Catholic News. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  43. Independent Catholic News, 9 February 2012, accessed 13 June 2016
  44. Alex Bigham (ed.), Having Faith in Foreign Policy Archived 20 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine, The Foreign Policy Centre, 2007 ISBN 978-1-905833-09-2(accessed 19 June 2016)
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