Telegraph, 19 June 2006

by Robert Miller

Former Conservative Party leader Michael Howard has taken up his first City appointment as head of a company founded by retired British and American intelligence officers.

Mr Howard, 65 next month, will announce today that he is to become chairman of Diligence Europe. Diligence, one of the largest independent intelligence gathering and risk management companies, was created in 2000 by former members of the Central Intelligence Agency and MI5.

The worldwide group is chaired by Richard Burt, a former US ambassador to Germany and assistant secretary of state.

Mr Howard, who stood down as party leader after the last general election, said yesterday: "I have enjoyed my time in politics but it is time to move on." He declined to discuss the salary for his new part-time job.

The MP, a lawyer who was elected to Parliament in 1983, will announce two or three other business appointments in the coming months. "They will be things where I think I can make a significant contribution," he said.