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Paul Rudd Drayson, Baron Drayson PC (born 5 March 1960[1]) is a British businessman, amateur racing driver and politician. He was Minister of Science in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills until May 2010, where he replaced Ian Pearson. In June 2009 he was additionally appointed as Minister of State for Strategic Defence Acquisition Reform at the Ministry of Defence.[2] After losing his ministerial positions in the General Election 2010 he decided to devote himself totally towards his motorsports company Drayson Racing.[3]
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After attending St Dunstan's College, Paul Drayson graduated from Aston University in Production Engineering, followed in 1986 by a PhD in robotics.[4] From 1986 to 1991 he was Managing Director of the Lambourn Food Company.
In 1993 he co-founded PowderJect Pharmaceuticals plc in Oxford which specialised in the production of vaccines, and was Chief Executive until 2003 when PowderJect was acquired by Chiron Corp.
In May 2005 Lord Drayson replaced Lord Bach as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Minister for Defence Procurement and as Government Spokesman for Defence to the House of Lords. Lord Drayson's responsibility for defence procurement in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was one of the most high profile jobs in the MoD. His remit included oversight of the Defence Procurement Agency and Defence Logistics Organisation. In December 2005 Lord Drayson published a report entitled The Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS). On 6 March 2007 Lord Drayson was promoted to Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support. He oversaw the new Defence Equipment and Support Organisation.[5] On 29 June 2007 he also became a Minister of State in the newly created Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, combining this with his role in the Ministry of Defence. He stood down from ministerial responsibilities on 7 November 2007. His official reason for stepping down was his wish to participate in the Le Mans race, but it has been reported that the actual reasons were being left out of the loop when Prime Minister Brown decided to disband the Defence Export Services Organisation and equipment budget deficits which would make the follow-up to the DIS largely irrelevant.[6] His job as Defence Procurement Minister was transferred to Lady Taylor.[7] He rejoined the Brown government as Minister of State for Science and Innovation in the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills on 3 October 2008 following a cabinet reshuffle.[8]
Between 2001 and 2002 he was the Chairman of the BioIndustry Association, and has been Chairman of the Oxford Children's Hospital Campaign since 2002. Since 2003, he has been the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Said Business School, Oxford University.
Lord Drayson is a large contributor to the Labour party, with BBC News reporting in 2005 that he "was made a lord and then the UK defence procurement minister after giving New Labour more than £1m." [9]
Lord Drayson is the current president of the Motorsport Industry Association.
Drayson and his wife have five children, and live between homes in London and Nether Lypiatt Manor near Stroud in Gloucestershire, purchased for £5.75million in 2006 from TRH Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.[10]
Self-described as a "car nut and I'm a Government minister",[11] he has owned an Aston Martin Vanquish, his wife an Aston Martin DB9, and his collection includes a Lotus Elan. He has also raced a bio-ethanol powered Aston Martin DBRS9 GT3-spec race car for Barwell Motorsport[12] in the British GT Championship. He stood down as a Government minister in November 2007 to compete in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS).[7]
Drayson was born blind in one eye which, under FIA rules, prevented him from acquiring an international racing licence for participation in the Le Mans 24 Hours. In light of his performance during the 2008 ALMS season and FIA rule changes, he was granted an international licence to allow him the chance of competing in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans.[13] Drayson finished 37th overall and 12th in class at the race. He also competed at the 2010 event but failed to finish.
Drayson has currently competed in two seasons of the ALMS with a best finish of a win at the 2010 Road America race in a LMP Lola B09/60. For 2011, Drayson has made the switch to the EV Cup, a new championship for electric cars. He will be driving a Westfield iRACER.[14]
| Year | Class | No | Tyres | Car | Team | Co-Drivers | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | GT2 | 87 | M | Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2 Aston Martin 4.5L V8 |
Drayson Racing | Jonny Cocker Marino Franchitti |
272 | DNF | DNF |
| 2010 | LMP1 | 11 | M | Lola B09/60 Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5L V10 |
Drayson Racing | Jonny Cocker Emanuele Pirro |
254 | NC | NC |
There were also allegations that his company knowingly sold to the National Health Service several batches of BCG tuberculosis vaccine that failed to "meet the end of shelf-life potency criteria", in other words were stale and ineffective, risking the health of their recipients.[15]
He was elevated to the House of Lords in May 2004, made a working peer entitled Baron Drayson, of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Lord Bach |
Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support 2005–2007 |
Succeeded by The Baroness Taylor of Bolton |
| Preceded by Ian Pearson |
Minister of State for Science and Innovation 2008–2010 |
Succeeded by David Willetts as Minister of State for Universities and Science |
| New creation | Minister of State for Strategic Defence Acquisition Reform 2009–2010 |
Succeeded by TBD |
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