| Officers of APGAW

Henry Smith MP

Henry was first elected to Parliament in 2010, having stood in Crawley at the previous two General Elections. Henry has previously worked in the NHS and was elected as a West Sussex County Councillor in 1997. Henry has been campaigning hard for animal welfare issues since his election in 2010 and has a good relationship with many of the member organisations of APGAW. He is a vegetarian and led debates on CCTV in Slaughterhouses and Opposing the Badger Cull in the last Parliament.

Caroline Lucas MP

Caroline was elected as one of the Green Party’s first MEPs in June 1999 to represent the South East of England region and was re-elected with an increased vote share in 2004. She has been highly involved in many animal welfare issues and chaired the Eurogroup for Animal Welfare. Caroline received the Michael Kay Award from the RSPCA in 2006 for her outstanding contribution to European animal welfare and BBC Wildlife listed Caroline in their ‘Top 50 Conservationists’.

Rebecca Pow MP

Rebecca was first elected Member of Parliament for Taunton Deane in June 2015. She sat on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee and is currently PPS to Defra. Rebecca is very focused on rural life with Taunton having been her home for 27 years and before this rural Somerset. A scientist by training, a former BBC, ITV and C4 reporter, specialising in the environment, farming and gardening Rebecca has also worked for the National Farmers Union, standing up for the agricultural community in dealings with Brussels. Rebecca has a strong interest in high welfare standards for farm animals and responsible pet ownership.

Lord Trees

Professor Trees is a leading veterinary surgeon who has worked in general practice, industry and academia and was appointed chairman of the internationally renowned animal health research institute the Moredun Research Institute. Professor Trees is only the second veterinary surgeon to enter the House of Lords, joining Lord Soulsby of Swaffham Prior in Parliament’s upper chamber. He was formerly President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and Dean of Liverpool University Veterinary School.

Angela Smith MP

Angela was the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hillsborough from 2005 to 2010 when she was then elected to represent the new constituency of Penistone and Stockbridge. In July 2009, she introduced a ten-minute rule bill to the House of Commons to change the law to give people more legal protection against attacks by dogs. She worked with the RSPCA on this issue and was also awarded the League Against Cruel Sports’ Parliamentarian of the Year in 2013 for her efforts against the trial badger cull as well as recognition for her wider campaign in protecting animals from cruelty. After a spell as opposition Whip, Angela was promoted to the front bench as the Shadow Deputy Leader of the House in October 2010 and then in 2014 she became the Shadow Minister for Animal Welfare. Angela sits on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee.

Andrea Jenkyns MP

Andrea Jenkyns was first elected in 2015. Her background starts with working her way up from a “retail Saturday assistant to senior management”, with 15 years in management in the private sector working for multi-national companies. She also worked in the public sector via her music tutor work in three secondary school and then opted to retrain in her late 30s and completed a diploma in economics from the Open University before graduating from the University of Lincoln aged 40 after studying international relations and politics. A vegetarian for most of her adult life, Andrea is a “massive animal lover” who owns two Miniature Schnauzer dogs.

Theresa Villiers MP

A former barrister, Theresa was a lecturer at King’s College London when the London Conservatives chose her to top the list of their candidates for the European Election in 1999. Following, 6 years as an MEP. in 2005, Theresa was elected to the House of Commons as MP for Chipping Barnet. When the Coalition took office on May 2010, Theresa was appointed to the Privy Council and became Minister of State for Transport. Theresa was appointed to the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in September 2012, a role she held until July 2016.

Jim Fitzpatrick MP

Jim entered Parliament in 1997 and in 1999 he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Alan Milburn until becoming the Secretary of State for Health. After the 2001 General Election he became an Assistant Government Whip, becoming a Lord Commissioner to the Treasury (Government Whip) in 2002. He was again promoted within the Whips Office in 2003 when he became the Vice-Chamberlain of the Household. Jim was then appointed a junior minister at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister with the role of Minister for London. In June 2007 he moved to become the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport. Fitzpatrick was promoted to Minister of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the June 2009 reshuffle where he remained until the 2010 general election.