Mike Granatt
Encyclopedia
Mike Granatt, CB
, is a public relations
and communications professional, formerly a senior British civil servant, and the first head of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat
of the Cabinet Office
in 2001, the same year he was appointed a Companion of the Bath for "exceptional public service."
For 25 years Granatt held a range of senior communication posts in the British civil service
, and was press secretary to five cabinet ministers, both Conservative
and Labour
. Alongside his communications management roles he specialised in crisis management
and counterterrorist issues, and his final posting was to create and lead Britain's civil crisis management unit and the government's communication specialists. He is regularly interviewed in the media on the handling of terrorism and major emergencies.
from 1961, then Queen Mary College
, University of London
where he ran the students' union newspaper for two years. He briefly appeared in what its members considered the legendary folk/rock band Pig Rider penning some of the lyrics for the curiously mis-titled Paeolithic Transport Blues.
, he joined the Department of Energy
and became director of information within three years. In this role he managed the response to the Piper Alpha
oil rig disaster. He went on to hold similar posts, becoming Director of Public Affairs and Internal Communication for the Metropolitan Police
in 1989, Director of Communication at the Department of the Environment
in 1992, and Director of Communication at the Home Office in 1994. He was nicknamed "Metal Mickey
" due to his always having the latest gadgets.
While at the Home Office he was appointed head of profession for the Government Information Service, becoming full time in that post on transfer to the Cabinet Office in 1998. This move, to provide direct support to Sir Richard Wilson (now Lord Wilson of Dinton), then cabinet secretary, was made to help deliver changes facing the renamed Government Information and Communication Service (GICS) after Labour won power in 1997.
Much of his work concentrated on reforms, including founding a media monitoring unit in September 1997 due to ministers' dissatisfaction with the work of the GIS, and criticising the government's advertising campaigns as fragmented and wasteful. He was also the central adviser on the ethics and guidance governing the work of the GICS and other government communication staff. He wrote guidelines for the general election period in 2001 advising press officers to "Stay paranoid, stay boring, stay safe". Granatt describes Alastair Campbell
, who was Tony Blair's special advisor at the time, as "an extraordinarily good operator", though he thought he was given too much power.
In 2001 Granatt was asked to set up the Civil Contingencies Secretariat
, to reform Whitehall's civil emergencies arrangements and carry out "horizon scanning" after the earlier failures in the government's communication responses to crises. CCS was established in July 2001, and replaced the Home Office's Emergency Planning Division
, which had replaced the Home Defence and Emergency Services Division
of Cold War days, but its mission to update the UK’s emergency planning arrangements was swept up in the counterterrorist reforms following September 11, 2001
.
Having established CCS, in late 2002 Granatt reverted to the sole job of leading the GICS and was promoted to director-general, at the second highest rank in the civil service.
At the end of December 2003, Granatt took early retirement following a review into the GICS led by Sir Bob Phillis
that abolished his post.
's city consultancy Luther Pendragon in 2004. In this role he was Michael Martin
's media advisor when Martin was Speaker of the House of Commons
from 2005 until February 2008. He resigned saying he had been misled over a scandal involving the Speaker's expenses. One of his clients in 2007 was the BBC Trust
.
Currently he is senior associate fellow at the Advanced Research and Assessment Group of the Defence Academy of the UK, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations
, a past master of the City of London Guild of Public Relations Practitioners, chair of the governors and trustees of Mary Hare School, and chairman of the UK Press Card Authority. The IPR awarded him the Sir Stephen Tallents medal in 2002. He was previously a visiting professor at the University of Westminster
.
In 2005 he wrote a code of ethics for media commentators with Patrick Lagedec. In 2007, he was the author of Luther Pendragon's code of conduct, which formed part of their submission to the House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee inquiry into lobbying in 2008.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, is a public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
and communications professional, formerly a senior British civil servant, and the first head of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat
Civil Contingencies Secretariat
The Civil Contingencies Secretariat, created in July 2001, is the department of the British Cabinet Office responsible for emergency planning in the UK. The role of the secretariat is to ensure the United Kingdom’s resilience against disruptive challenge, and to do this by working with others to...
of the Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
in 2001, the same year he was appointed a Companion of the Bath for "exceptional public service."
For 25 years Granatt held a range of senior communication posts in the British civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
, and was press secretary to five cabinet ministers, both Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. Alongside his communications management roles he specialised in crisis management
Crisis management
Crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a major event that threatens to harm the organization, its stakeholders, or the general public. The study of crisis management originated with the large scale industrial and environmental disasters in the 1980's.Shrivastava, P....
and counterterrorist issues, and his final posting was to create and lead Britain's civil crisis management unit and the government's communication specialists. He is regularly interviewed in the media on the handling of terrorism and major emergencies.
Early life
Granatt attended Westminster City SchoolWestminster City School
Westminster City School is a voluntary aided Christian school for boys in Westminster, London. The school has 800 students on its roll, and it offers 105 of 130 places each year to boys practising the Christian faith in the Anglican dioceses of London and Southwark. The other 25 spaces are...
from 1961, then Queen Mary College
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
where he ran the students' union newspaper for two years. He briefly appeared in what its members considered the legendary folk/rock band Pig Rider penning some of the lyrics for the curiously mis-titled Paeolithic Transport Blues.
Career
After working as a trade and local news journalist, Granatt joined the civil service in 1979 as an information officer. After junior postings in the Department of Employment and the Home OfficeHome Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
, he joined the Department of Energy
Department of Energy (United Kingdom)
The Department of Energy was a department of the United Kingdom Government. The Department was established in January 1974, when the responsibility for energy production was transferred away from the Department of Trade and Industry in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis and with the importance of...
and became director of information within three years. In this role he managed the response to the Piper Alpha
Piper Alpha
Piper Alpha was a North Sea oil production platform operated by Occidental Petroleum Ltd. The platform began production in 1976, first as an oil platform and then later converted to gas production. An explosion and resulting fire destroyed it on 6 July 1988, killing 167 men, with only 61...
oil rig disaster. He went on to hold similar posts, becoming Director of Public Affairs and Internal Communication for the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
in 1989, Director of Communication at the Department of the Environment
Secretary of State for the Environment
The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment . This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15...
in 1992, and Director of Communication at the Home Office in 1994. He was nicknamed "Metal Mickey
Metal Mickey
thumb|Metal Mickey, a robot character on UK children's television in the 1980sMetal Mickey was a five-foot-tall fictional robot, which was created, controlled and voiced by Johnny Edward. A modernised vision of a 1950s space toy, Metal Mickey first appeared on British television in the ITV...
" due to his always having the latest gadgets.
While at the Home Office he was appointed head of profession for the Government Information Service, becoming full time in that post on transfer to the Cabinet Office in 1998. This move, to provide direct support to Sir Richard Wilson (now Lord Wilson of Dinton), then cabinet secretary, was made to help deliver changes facing the renamed Government Information and Communication Service (GICS) after Labour won power in 1997.
Much of his work concentrated on reforms, including founding a media monitoring unit in September 1997 due to ministers' dissatisfaction with the work of the GIS, and criticising the government's advertising campaigns as fragmented and wasteful. He was also the central adviser on the ethics and guidance governing the work of the GICS and other government communication staff. He wrote guidelines for the general election period in 2001 advising press officers to "Stay paranoid, stay boring, stay safe". Granatt describes Alastair Campbell
Alastair Campbell
Alastair John Campbell is a British journalist, broadcaster, political aide and author, best known for his work as Director of Communications and Strategy for Prime Minister Tony Blair between 1997 and 2003, having first started working for Blair in 1994...
, who was Tony Blair's special advisor at the time, as "an extraordinarily good operator", though he thought he was given too much power.
Crisis management
Granatt took a leading role in coordinating public information from government in the run up to the Millennium, during the nationwide fuel protests of 2000, and the foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001. Granatt said of the existing systems that "we've got a system that was put in place for nuclear war."In 2001 Granatt was asked to set up the Civil Contingencies Secretariat
Civil Contingencies Secretariat
The Civil Contingencies Secretariat, created in July 2001, is the department of the British Cabinet Office responsible for emergency planning in the UK. The role of the secretariat is to ensure the United Kingdom’s resilience against disruptive challenge, and to do this by working with others to...
, to reform Whitehall's civil emergencies arrangements and carry out "horizon scanning" after the earlier failures in the government's communication responses to crises. CCS was established in July 2001, and replaced the Home Office's Emergency Planning Division
Emergency Planning Division
From 1935 to 1971 civil defence in the United Kingdom was the responsibility of the Civil Defence Department. On the run-down of civil defence in 1971 the department was replaced by the Home Defence and Emergency Services Division of the Home Office. It was renamed the Emergency Planning Division...
, which had replaced the Home Defence and Emergency Services Division
Home Defence and Emergency Services Division
From 1935 to 1971 civil defence in the United Kingdom was the responsibility of the Civil Defence Department. On the run-down of civil defence in 1971 the department was replaced by the Home Defence and Emergency Services Division of the Home Office...
of Cold War days, but its mission to update the UK’s emergency planning arrangements was swept up in the counterterrorist reforms following September 11, 2001
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
.
Having established CCS, in late 2002 Granatt reverted to the sole job of leading the GICS and was promoted to director-general, at the second highest rank in the civil service.
At the end of December 2003, Granatt took early retirement following a review into the GICS led by Sir Bob Phillis
Bob Phillis
Sir Robert Weston Phillis was a British media executive with experience both in broadcasting organisations and the press....
that abolished his post.
Consulting and PR
Granatt then joined George PitcherGeorge Pitcher
George Pitcher is a journalist, author, public relations pioneer and an Anglican priest. He was appointed in October 2010 and left the post a year later. Previously, he was Religion Editor of Telegraph Media from May 2008 and wrote a regular column and occasional leaders for the Daily Telegraph...
's city consultancy Luther Pendragon in 2004. In this role he was Michael Martin
Michael Martin
Michael Martin may refer to:*Micheál Martin, Irish politician*Michael Martin , Australian rules footballer*Michael Martin , fictional character on the Australian soap opera Neighbours...
's media advisor when Martin was Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the House of Commons can refer to:*Speaker of the House of Commons *Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada*Speaker of the Northern Ireland House of Commons...
from 2005 until February 2008. He resigned saying he had been misled over a scandal involving the Speaker's expenses. One of his clients in 2007 was the BBC Trust
BBC Trust
The BBC Trust is the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It is operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and aims to act in the best interests of licence fee payers....
.
Currently he is senior associate fellow at the Advanced Research and Assessment Group of the Defence Academy of the UK, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations
Chartered Institute of Public Relations
The Chartered Institute of Public Relations is the professional body for PR practitioners in the United Kingdom. Founded in February 1948 as the Institute of Public Relations, by 2009 it had grown to over 9000 members involved in all aspects of the public relations industry, and is the largest...
, a past master of the City of London Guild of Public Relations Practitioners, chair of the governors and trustees of Mary Hare School, and chairman of the UK Press Card Authority. The IPR awarded him the Sir Stephen Tallents medal in 2002. He was previously a visiting professor at the University of Westminster
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. Its origins go back to the foundation of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1838, and it was awarded university status in 1992.The university's headquarters and original campus are based on Regent...
.
In 2005 he wrote a code of ethics for media commentators with Patrick Lagedec. In 2007, he was the author of Luther Pendragon's code of conduct, which formed part of their submission to the House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee inquiry into lobbying in 2008.