A former communications director has revealed that David Beckham was considered for a senior government role as sports minister.
A “very senior” minister in David Cameron’s government recommended the star footballer for the job during a cabinet reshuffle in 2013, according to the doctor featured in the cartoon by former prime minister Sir Craig Oliver.
Sir Craig said he told the minister, who was not named, that it was not a good idea. “I remember looking at them and saying: ‘Look, wait a minute, David Beckham, I’ve met him a few times, he’s a very nice guy, but I’m not sure he’s qualified to stand in the House.’ The Lords’ Send-Off Fund defends the government’s policy on sport, which of course can be very complicated.
Former PR boss reveals bizarre suggestion of installing Beckham at The Lords on podcast What were you thinking? He said he was surprised that they thought about it seriously.
“I looked at him and thought, ‘What?’,” Sir Craig told the podcast. “And he said, ‘Yeah, wouldn’t it be great if David Beckham was appointed to the House of Lords and became Minister for Sport?’”
“It’s the morning of the cabinet reshuffle, do you really want me to call Beckham and say, ‘Mate, would you like me to be Minister of Sport?'” he added.
Although Sir Craig declined to be called “First Minister” in the podcast, Daily Mail He claimed that then Chancellor George Osborne lobbied on Beckham’s behalf, citing Conservative sources.
The PR man said he had “killed” the plan by warning Cameron sternly against it. “Everyone would laugh at us, and even if we got glorious coverage, we would end up regretting it to our hearts content for months afterwards.”
The row came after Sports Minister Sir Hugh Robertson was given a role at the Foreign Office during a cabinet reshuffle in October 2013, with the post eventually going to Conservative MP Helen Grant.
In 2017, some of Beckham’s private emails were published by a group calling itself Football Leaks, which allegedly showed that Beckham hoped his humanitarian work would earn him a knighthood.
But representatives for the soccer star said hacked emails discussing his charitable work and potential honors were used to paint a “deliberately inaccurate picture” of his views.
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