Headshots of Lisa Nandy, Mary Archer and Caroline Dinenage

Caroline Dinenage, recently re-elected Chair of the CCMS Committee, said not approving Archer's appointment was was "ill-judged and spiteful"

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Nandy accused of ‘spiteful’ reneging on Archer appointment

Caroline Dinenage, Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, has criticised the government for revoking the appointment of Mary Archer as Chair of London’s Royal Parks.

Mary Stone
3 min read

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has revoked the appointment of Mary Archer as Chair of London’s Royal Parks in a move that Caroline Dinenage, Chair of the Culture, Media, and Sport Select Committee, has called “spiteful”.

Archer was awarded the role at the charity responsible for 10 London parks by former conservative Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer in May. In response to the appointment, Royal Parks Chief Executive Andrew Scattergood said at the time that he was "delighted".

Archer was due to take up the post in July following the departure of Loyd Grossman, who has completed a maximum of two four-year terms as Chair.

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However, on 17 September, the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport announced that Grossman will continue in post until May 2025, when a new permanent successor will be chosen.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Caroline Dinenage, Chair of the Culture Select Committee, said, “Lady Archer has the qualifications and experience for this role; the Chief Executive of The Royal Parks said so himself.

“Yet, maybe since she was unlikely to be a big Labour Party donor, or buy designer clothes for the Prime Minister’s wife, she was deemed unsuitable.

“It’s disappointing that the government has made this ill-judged and spiteful decision.”

Conservative MP for Gosport since 2010, Dineage was re-elected Chair of the Culture Select Committee without opposition last week.

Commenting on her appointment, Dineage said she would "continue to work cross-party" to ensure culture, media and sport "continue to fire on all cylinders” and that the government "doesn’t take them for granted".

A spokesperson for DCMS told The Telegraph that all appointments made in the lead-up to the general election were subject to approval by the new government and that a fair and open competition to appoint a new chairman of The Royal Parks would take place, with a new job description.

In March, Archer, who is wife to former Tory MP Jeffrey Archer and was previously Chair of the Science Museum, was selected by DCMS to lead a review into Arts Council England.

The review team had been preparing to launch a consultation process with the arts and culture sector before submitting a report on its findings to ministers by July, but all work on the review was put on hold while the general election took place.

Last week, Nandy confirmed that plans to review ACE's performance and remit have been "paused" in favour of a wider examination of arts funding.