Lobbyist
In October 2009 Collins was appointed Managing Director of Bell Pottinger Public Affairs, one of the UK's largest lobbying companies. BPPA is part of Chime Communications plc, created and chaired by Lord Bell, the former advertising and communications adviser to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during the 1970s and 1980s. In the December 2009 edition of PA News, a magazine covering the lobbying industry, Shadow Arts Minister Ed Vaizey MP praised the hiring of Collins, saying he had "a huge brain" and would be "a huge asset" to the company. In the same issue, Charles Lewington, MD of consultancy Hanover, said it was "a smart hire by Tim Bell" while the man who beat Collins in 2005, Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron, said it was "very good news for Bell Pottinger". In December 2011, The Independent claimed that Collins had been filmed by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism saying that PM David Cameron had raised a copyright issue with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao on behalf of Dyson Limited "because we asked him to".
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