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David Burnside
David Wilson Boyd Burnside (born 24 August 1951) is an British politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for South Antrim from 2001 to 2005 and a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for South Antrim from 2003 to 2009.
In the 1970s, Burnside served as press officer for the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party, and he unsuccessfully contested North Antrim for the party at the 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election. After the collapse of Vanguard he joined the Ulster Unionist Party, standing unsuccessfully in the 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly but then took a back seat from politics for many years while working as a prominent public relations consultant based in London which led him to set up his own PR company. He also served in the Ulster Defence Regiment.
Since 2015 he has been a member of the Steering Committee of the Constitution Reform Group (CRG), a cross-party pressure group chaired by Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, which seeks a new constitutional settlement in the UK. The Constitution Reform Group's Act of Union Bill 2018 was introduced as a Private Member's Bill by Lord Lisvane in the House of Lords on 9 October 2018, when it received a formal first reading. The bill was described by the BBC as "one to watch" in the 2017-19 Parliament.
In 1984, Burnside was recruited by the British Airways Chairman John Leonard King to become the company's head of public relations. In this role, Burnside would speak for King, administer a £5 million budget and received numerous awards.[citation needed]
His success is perhaps overshadowed by the nature of his departure. British Airways was witnessing the emergence of a potentially strong rival, Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic. Virgin, which began with one route and one Boeing 747 in 1984 was beginning to emerge as a serious threat on some of BA's most lucrative routes.
Following Virgin's highly publicized mission of mercy to Iraq to fly home hostages who had been held by Saddam Hussein in 1991, King is reported to have told Burnside and CEO Colin Marshall to "do something about Branson".[citation needed] This began the campaign of "dirty tricks", which ended in Branson suing King and British Airways for libel in 1992. King countersued Branson and the case went to trial in 1993. British Airways, faced with likely defeat, settled the case giving £500,000 to Branson and a further £110,000 to his airline; further, BA was to pay the legal fees of up to £3 million. [citation needed]
It was an article written by Burnside (given legal clearance) in BA News, the company's in house newsletter, that prompted Branson's legal action.[citation needed] Following the case Burnside was awarded a settlement of approximately £400,000 and free first class travel on BA for four years. [citation needed]
Along with several prominent current Ulster Unionist politicians, Burnside was a member of the Vanguard Movement. He was press officer for the organisation from 1974 to 1977.
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David Burnside
David Wilson Boyd Burnside (born 24 August 1951) is an British politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for South Antrim from 2001 to 2005 and a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for South Antrim from 2003 to 2009.
In the 1970s, Burnside served as press officer for the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party, and he unsuccessfully contested North Antrim for the party at the 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election. After the collapse of Vanguard he joined the Ulster Unionist Party, standing unsuccessfully in the 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly but then took a back seat from politics for many years while working as a prominent public relations consultant based in London which led him to set up his own PR company. He also served in the Ulster Defence Regiment.
Since 2015 he has been a member of the Steering Committee of the Constitution Reform Group (CRG), a cross-party pressure group chaired by Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, which seeks a new constitutional settlement in the UK. The Constitution Reform Group's Act of Union Bill 2018 was introduced as a Private Member's Bill by Lord Lisvane in the House of Lords on 9 October 2018, when it received a formal first reading. The bill was described by the BBC as "one to watch" in the 2017-19 Parliament.
In 1984, Burnside was recruited by the British Airways Chairman John Leonard King to become the company's head of public relations. In this role, Burnside would speak for King, administer a £5 million budget and received numerous awards.[citation needed]
His success is perhaps overshadowed by the nature of his departure. British Airways was witnessing the emergence of a potentially strong rival, Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic. Virgin, which began with one route and one Boeing 747 in 1984 was beginning to emerge as a serious threat on some of BA's most lucrative routes.
Following Virgin's highly publicized mission of mercy to Iraq to fly home hostages who had been held by Saddam Hussein in 1991, King is reported to have told Burnside and CEO Colin Marshall to "do something about Branson".[citation needed] This began the campaign of "dirty tricks", which ended in Branson suing King and British Airways for libel in 1992. King countersued Branson and the case went to trial in 1993. British Airways, faced with likely defeat, settled the case giving £500,000 to Branson and a further £110,000 to his airline; further, BA was to pay the legal fees of up to £3 million. [citation needed]
It was an article written by Burnside (given legal clearance) in BA News, the company's in house newsletter, that prompted Branson's legal action.[citation needed] Following the case Burnside was awarded a settlement of approximately £400,000 and free first class travel on BA for four years. [citation needed]
Along with several prominent current Ulster Unionist politicians, Burnside was a member of the Vanguard Movement. He was press officer for the organisation from 1974 to 1977.