James Purnell

James Mark Dakin Purnell (born 2 March 1970) is a British former broadcasting executive and Labour Party politician who served as a Cabinet minister in the Brown Government from 2007 to 2009.

While a student, he worked during summer vacations as a researcher for Tony Blair between 1989 and 1992.

After graduating from Oxford with a first class degree, he worked as a research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research before moving to the BBC to become its Head of Corporate Planning.

Between May 1994 and October 1995, he was a Labour councillor in Islington, representing Canonbury East ward.

In 1997, Purnell returned to work as a special adviser at 10 Downing Street, remaining in the post until 2001.

He has also served as a consultant at Hydra Associates and as a board member of the Young Vic theatre as well as of the Royal National Theatre and the British Film Institute, and as a senior advisor to Boston Consulting Group.

Purnell was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stalybridge and Hyde from the general election of 2001 until the that of 2010.

Purnell was selected as the Labour candidate for the constituency of Stalybridge and Hyde in 2001, and won the seat in that year's general election with a majority of 8,859.

While a Labour MP, he was a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee in the House of Commons from 2001 to 2003, the Chair of the All-Party Group on Private Equity and Venture Capital between 2002 and 2003, and the Chair of Labour Friends of Israel from 2002 to 2004.

In 2003, Purnell became Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Ruth Kelly in the Cabinet Office, and in December 2004 he joined the Government as a Whip in the government reshuffle following the resignation of David Blunkett.

In October 2004, he sold his London flat but told HM Revenue and Customs it was his "principal home", not his "second home".

A spokesman on behalf of Purnell said that "Any allegation that James avoided capital gains tax is completely untrue. When he bought his constituency home, the sale of his London flat fell through, but it was sold within the period that HMRC continue to treat it as not being liable for CGT ... This would have been true for any taxpayer – there was no special treatment".

Also in 2004, Purnell claimed £395 for an accountant's bill which included "tax advice provided in October 2004 regarding sale of flat".

Whilst renting a flat between 2004 and 2006, Purnell claimed £100 a month for cleaning expenses and £586 for repairs.

At the end of the lease, the landlord kept the £2,520 deposit, claiming the flat to have been in a poor state.

A spokesman for Purnell stated: "James Felt frustrated that the landlord refused to return the deposit. He initially pursued the matter through legal channels but let it rest as the costs of fighting it further would far outweigh recouping the deposit".

Allegation were made by a Sunday newspaper that Purnell claimed more than £1,500 a month rent for the flat although he was responsible for paying half of the £1,820 a month rent and his fiancée was paying the rest.

A spokesman for Purnell said "Despite being entitled to claim in full for the whole rental cost incurred by him and his partner, James claimed less than the amount he himself spent. The rules of the House of Commons make it clear that an MP is entitled to be reimbursed for the rent or mortgage paid by the MP and their partner. Nevertheless, James went out of his way to ensure overall he claimed less for accommodation than he himself paid".

Purnell also claimed £247 for 3,000 fridge magnets.

After Labour was returned to power in the 2005 general election, he was appointed to the position of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Creative Industries and Tourism in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, where he was in charge of preparing the legislation that liberalised the alcohol licensing laws of England and Wales and created tax breaks for the film industry.

In May 2006, he was promoted to be Minister of State for Pensions in the Department for Work and Pensions, replacing Stephen Timms.

He served as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from 2007 to 2008 and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2008 to 2009.

In 2007, he was named Consumer Champion of the Year by Which? magazine for his work on pensions.

Which? cited his "commitment to consumers in the development of the national pensions saving scheme", particularly for listening to stakeholders and for his contributions to the personal accounts for low and middle earners.

In June 2007, Purnell entered the Cabinet as the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport; he was its youngest member.

In September 2007 Tameside General Hospital inserted Purnell into a photograph, as part of a press release for a Private finance initiative (PFI) deal.

Tameside Trust claimed that he agreed to the insertion being late for the original photo call, Purnell denied this.

Tom Levitt, a Labour MP who was present for the photoshoot, stated that he and other MPs left a gap for Purnell when the photograph was taken, knowing that Purnell's image would be added.

He was promoted to Work and Pensions Secretary after the resignation of Peter Hain on 24 January 2008.

In December 2008, Purnell proposed charging interest on crisis loans to the unemployed and pensioners made by the Department for Work and Pensions, which were interest-free, at a rate of up to 26.8% per annum.

This was met with great hostility and was blocked by the intervention of the prime minister, Gordon Brown.

He resigned from the Government on 4 June 2009, criticising the leadership of Gordon Brown.

He became the director of the Open Left project for Demos in 2009.

Purnell was one of many MPs involved in political difficulties following the revelations of the 2009 expenses scandal.

He told the parliamentary authorities that his main home was in Manchester and claimed the "second home" allowance for his flat in London.

Purnell chaired the Institute for Public Policy Research until 2010, and was a senior advisor in the Public Sector practice of the Boston Consulting Group.

He is also a film producer, and a former Senior Producer at Rare Day, who produced the film One Mile Away.

Purnell was born in the City of London; he received most of his education in France before returning to study for his A-Levels at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, and then read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Balliol College, Oxford.

In October 2016, he became the BBC's Director of Radio, in addition to his other role as the BBC's Director of Strategy and Digital, a job he had held since March 2013.

In 2020, he left the BBC to become vice-chancellor of University of the Arts London.