Portland launches Brexit unit

A month on from the UK’s vote to leave Europe, Portland Communications has launched a dedicated Brexit unit to advise its global client base.

The team brings together senior advisers with experience across British and European politics, with additional appointments to be announced in the coming months.

The unit will provide counsel on the implications of Brexit for both British businesses and international companies with operations in the UK.

Portland’s manging director, Tim Allan said: “This is a critical time for our clients in the UK, and those who do business here. Already we are working hard to help them understand how we will exit Europe, what this might mean for their business and how they can enter the debate.

“They want to understand where the risk and opportunity lies. They want to know how to engage the debate in the right way. And they want to know how to communicate with their own people and externally as they navigate their way through a period of uncertainty which will last for years.”

Portland’s Brexit Unit includes: Sir Stephen Wall, Portland’s chief adviser on Europe and the UK’s former permanent representative (ambassador) to the European Union in Brussels, Radek Sikorski, a member of Portland’s advisory council and former minister of foreign affairs in Donald Tusk’s Cabinet (2007-14), Michael Portillo, a member of the advisory board and former Conservative Cabinet Minister, Kitty Ussher, Portland’s chief economic adviser and former city minister at the Treasury and Steve Morris, Portland’s managing partner and former adviser to Tony Blair on European issues and spokesperson to EC President Romano Prodi.

The senior advisory group will be supported by Portland consultants that include those based in the New York and Washington offices.