Speculation is rising that Claire Perry, Marlborough’s outspoken Tory MP and supporter of Chancellor George Osborne, is about to be given a boost to her career in the imminent government reshuffle.
It follows the fact that her employment tribunal hearing, due at Bristol last month, has now been withdrawn from the list of pending cases, the presumption being that the claim for wrongful dismissal by Mrs Penelope Nurick has been settled.
Mrs Nurick, who seconded 48-year-old Mrs Perry’s bid to become MP for Devizes at the 2010 general election, has been described as a best friend who worked for the MP in her Devizes office.
In an exclusive interview with Mrs Perry a fortnight ago, Marlborough News Online suggested that she had been advised to settle the case as any public hearing would prove to be bad publicity for the party.
Mrs Perry said the tribunal hearing had been “postponed” and added: “I’m afraid I can’t comment on that as it is a legal matter but one that is of great regret to me because it is very difficult when you work with somebody whom you like and respect.”
She dismissed the bad publicity possibility by adding: “Oh, it’s in the public domain. It’s been in the national and local press. I think most people understand that it is a private employment dispute and it is always unfortunate when things like that can’t be resolved without getting into the legal domain. It is what it is.”
However, one admirer of former New York banker Mrs Perry, a protégé of George Osborne, believes the settlement of the employment dispute was inevitable if Mrs Perry is to be given a post in David Cameron’s reshuffle.
She is currently Parliamentary Private Secretary to Defence Minister Philip Hammond – there are five armed forces camps in her constituency — and has won public acclaim for her cross-party campaign to clamp down on internet pornography being available to children.
Marlborough News Online requested a statement from Mrs Perry and/or her political adviser Jack Withrington when the Commons returned from the summer recess today (Monday), and followed it up with a phone call when Mr Withrington was said to have “just left the office”.
No statement has yet been forthcoming.
