CM July_August 2019

INTERVIEW
THE COMPLEAT
ANGLER
Sean Feast FCICM speaks to Russell Hamblin-Boone
about civil enforcement, dealing with vulnerability, and
the challenges of landing a 22-pound Pike.
RUSSELL Hamblin-Boone
has never been one to
shy away from what he
jokingly calls ‘issues-rich’
briefs, and as the current
Chief Executive of the
Civil Enforcement Association (CIVEA) he
certainly has a number of issues to juggle.
With the imminent publication of the
Ministry of Justice’s response to its call for
evidence, and the launch of CIVEA’s new
Code to complement the creation of a new
Compliance Board and revised complaints
procedure, he is a busy man. He is also
aware that he has unintentionally been
characterised by some in the media as the
standard-bearer for some of the business
UK’s more controversial briefs: “I am not
sure if I have followed crises around or
they have followed me,” he laughs. “And
I was not sure whether to be flattered or
insulted by once being referred to by James
Moore in the Independent as ‘a disturbingly
effective lobbyist’ when I was making a
case for high-cost credit!”
TROUT FARM
It all seems a long way from the small boy
who grew up on a farm in Hampshire.
Growing up in the countryside, it might
have been expected that the young
Russell may have pursued an outdoors
career: “There was a trout farm on one of
the farms that we lived, and for a time I
thought of becoming a Fishery Manager,
but not getting high enough grades at
Chemistry and Maths it was not to be.”
Instead, on leaving college Russell took
leave of his idyllic rural surroundings to
head for the bright lights of Basingstoke,
where he quickly found employment
in the Civil Service. “I was young, living
in a big town, and needed money,” he
explains. “My mother suggested the Civil
Service and so I joined the Civil Service
Commission as an office adminstrator.
The Commission was part of the Cabinet
Office and a typical sausage factory;
everything was still dependent on pen
and paper, copied in triplicate and letters
were prepared in a typing pool.”
Encouraged through promotion to
move to London, Russell joined the Chief
Whip’s Office, working from Downing
Street: “It was just at the time that John
Major had lost his majority as a result
of revolt by the Euro Sceptics,” he says,
his comment heavy with irony given the
Conservative Party’s current predicament.
“I was also there during the transition to
the new ‘New Labour’ government and
very much enjoyed the ‘cut and thrust’ of
the role. It is an overtly political office so as
a civil servant I had a unique opportunity
to earn my parliamentary spurs.”
WHIP’S OFFICE
After over four years in the Whip’s Office,
and with an ambition to be a Private
Secretary, Russell joined the Attorney
General’s Office, working closely with
the Solicitor General, Lord Faulkner.
This was the time of Kosovo and the
Omagh bombings, and a febrile political
environment. Concurrently he took
on a further role with Baroness Jay, as
Assistant and then Private Secretary to the
Leader of the House of Lords, Lord Privy
Seal and Minister for Women during the
passage of the Lords reform Bill. He took
justifiable pride in being one of the few
private secretaries who had not been fasttracked
out of Oxbridge.
With 14 years of Civil Service experience
under his belt, Russell understood that
detailed knowledge of Whitehall and
the machinations of government were a
priceless commodity: “Having a solid Civil
Service background and quality training
has served me well throughout my career,”
Russell explains.
Now with a young family, and having
moved to the West Country, Russell began
looking for a change in direction, and a
shift from the public to the private sector.
Spotting an advertisement in The House
magazine for the British Retail Consortium
he applied, and was successful, joining
the BRC as its Parliamentary Officer in
December 2000: “The transition from
public to private can be a difficult one,”
Russell concedes, “though the journey
can be eased by first working for a trade
association where my knowledge of
Government was seen as an asset.”
FOOT AND MOUTH
Russell’s arrival was followed soon after
by a crisis of significant proportions –
the outbreak in 2001 of Foot and Mouth:
“It had a devastating impact not only on
the UK farming community but also the
grocery and wider retail sectors,” Russell
says. Russell’s time was also marked by
a happier incident in which he played a
leading role, the introduction of the first
free ‘proof of age’ scheme for younger
people, a scheme that is still very much
alive and well today.
By December 2003, Russell had become
Head of Public Affairs and was presented
with his next opportunity. He was asked
to help establish a new trade association
for the energy sector, the Energy Retail
Association (now Energy UK). His CEO
and mentor was Duncan Sedgwick, a
former senior executive at Powergen, and
the organisation was starting from the
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