Ewen Alexander Nicholas Fergusson

This article is about the businessman and former lawyer. For his father, the former diplomat and rugby player, see Ewen Fergusson. For the golfer, see Ewen Ferguson.

Ewen Alexander Nicholas Fergusson
Occupation	Business advisor Public servant Film production
Known for	Bullingdon Club Law and global finance Committee for Standards in Public Life

Ewen Alexander Nicholas Fergusson is a former lawyer appointed to serve on the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) from August 2021,{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} an appointment which has led to accusations of cronyism by the opposition British Labour Party.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}

Life

Fergusson is the son of Ewen Alastair John Fergusson and Sara Carolyn Montgomery Cuninghame (née Gordon Lennox).{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}. Fergusson followed his father's educational path via Rugby School and Oriel College, Oxford,{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} where he read history.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}

At Oriel Fergusson joined the Bullingdon Club, an exclusive dining society with an apparent objective to cause mayhem and damage while under the influence of alcohol.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} Fergusson's group of 1987 included two members who were to become British prime ministers, David Cameron and Boris Johnson.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} The group were noted for throwing a plant pot through a restaurant window with six of the group of ten being apprehended by police.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} There have been allegations, that Fergusson, noted as being the "quiet one" of the group was the one who threw the plant pot, though there is uncertainty.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}

Fergusson qualified as a lawyer,{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} and joined the international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) in 2000 and served as a partner in the finance division.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} In 2020 he was to lose in an election contest with fellow partner Malcolm Hitching for the position of HSF's global banking practice.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} He left HSF in 2018 to become an self-employed business advisor.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} As of July 2021 Fergusson was noted as a non-magistrate member of the Lord Chancellor’s advisory committee for South East England, as well as having roles as co-producer in a number of film projects.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}

It was announced in July 2021 Fergusson was to have a five-year appointment to the CSPL starting in August.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} Due to Fergusson's previous associations with prime minister Boris Johnson, the British Labour Party opposition accused the incumbent Conservative Party of cronyism, a claim rejected by the British government who stated the appointment was the result of "fair and open competition."{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} On 23 July 2021 CSPL chairperson Johnathan Evans took the unusual step of writing to Michael Gove about concerns "Members of the Committee have, however, expressed concerns about our lack of visible diversity now as a group." with Fergusson and Gillian Peele replacing earlier incumbents, the letter not being made public until later in August.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} As an introduction to his first CSPL committee meeting on 16 September 2021 Fergusson acknowledged there had been some publicity about his appointment and that he "wished to correct some of the (published) facts: he had not been asked by anyone to apply for the role; and had last seen the Prime Minister at an external event in 2008."{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}

References

Sources

• Adams, Guy (13 February 2007). "Cameron's cronies: The Bullingdon Club's class of '87". The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cameron-s-cronies-bullingdon-club-s-class-87-436192.html. 
• BBC (16 July 2021). "Boris Johnson's university friend gets ethics watchdog role". https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-57860969. 
• Template:Cite report
• Culbertson, Alix (23 August 2021). "Sleaze watchdog chair raises concerns after member of PM's old university club appointed". https://news.sky.com/story/sleaze-watchdog-chair-raises-concerns-after-member-of-pms-old-university-club-appointed-12388899. 
• Template:Cite letter
• Gov.UK (2021). "Ewen Fergusson". Biography. https://www.gov.uk/government/people/ewen-fergusson. 
• McMahon, Liz (16 July 2021). "Ewen Fergusson: Who is the lawyer appointed by Boris Johnson to Whitehall ethics committee? What’s his connection to the Bullingdon Club?". https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/ewen-fergusson-who-is-the-lawyer-appointed-by-boris-johnson-to-whitehall-ethics-committee-whats-his-connection-to-the-bullingdon-club-3311401. 
• Scotsman Newsroom (9 May 2017). "Obituary: Sir Ewen Fergusson, rugby international and diplomat". https://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-sir-ewen-fergusson-rugby-international-and-diplomat-1-4437194. 
• Template:Cite newspaper
• Taylor, Margret (5 February 2010). "Hitching takes over Herbies’ finance practice after contested election". The Lawyer (London: Centaur Media). https://www.thelawyer.com/issues/online/hitching-takes-over-herbies-finance-practice-after-contested-election/.