The Conservative party’s election guru Lynton Crosby lobbied a minister against the introduction of plain packaging for cigarettes days before it was announced the London-based Australian lobbyist was to become campaign director for the Tories.
Crosby’s London-based lobbying firm, Crosby Textor Fullbrook (CTF), was hired by Philip Morris International (PMI) in the autumn of 2012 because the owner of the Marlboro brand sought to derail plans to sell cigarettes in unbranded cartons, a move health campaigners claim will save lives by making smoking less appealing.