- The Tokyo 2020 bid committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games has appointed Weber Shandwick as its global agency.
- Mayor of London Boris Johnson has appointed the BBC's Westminster news editor to be his new director of comms.
- The Culture Secretary's special adviser 'overstepped the mark' while News International's lobbyist was 'too fast and loose', according to public affairs professionals.
- A top News Corporation lobbyist has admitted that he believed the Culture Secretary was 'supportive' of the BSkyB takeover bid.
- The CIPR has hit out at Conservative minister Mark Harper over his treatment of the body's definition of lobbying during a select committee hearing.
- Ryder Cup Europe has appointed Grayling to manage international comms for the next home staging in Gleneagles.
- Santander UK is understood to have a pitch process under way for its public affairs account.
- The PRCA has broadly accepted the 30 recommendations made by its access commission, aimed at broadening access to the PR industry.
- Octopus Group has appointed Publicasity's head of new business to take on the newly created role of brand director.
- Heineken, the UK's leading beer and cider business, has appointed Publicasity to handle trade press and raise the profile of its portfolio brands.
- Weber Shandwick's tech and digital expertise has taken another hit as its longstanding top tech practitioner exits the agency.
- A high-profile lobbying transparency campaigner has called for agencies to open their doors to politicians, following a day of shadowing at Connect Communications.
- The Conservative Party's deputy political director is leaving Downing Street.
- Broadbandchoices.co.uk, a broadband comparison website, is currently undergoing a pitch process for an agency as it looks to broaden its relevance.
- Peter Bingle has left Bell Pottinger Public Affairs, as the group moves towards completing an MBO of a number of its PR businesses.
- Andy Coulson's performance at the Leveson Inquiry yesterday will place more heat on David Cameron for running a 'sofa government', according to the PRCA chief executive Francis Ingham.
- A major climate change campaign has launched a hunt for comms support as it enters its third year.
- The PRCA has revealed the latest leadership of its public affairs group, as the body expressed disappointment that the Government did not announce any legislation on a statutory register of lobbyists in the Queen's Speech.
- Downing Street is plotting a major shift in its team of top strategists by raiding powerful think-tanks and lobbying firms.
- Described by one member of the public affairs industry as the 'acceptable face of lobbying', Iain Anderson's fiercely ethical approach has never been so important, with sting operations and rogue traders blighting the reputation of the business.
