Helena Shovelton

Dame Helena Richards Shovelton, DBE (born 1945) is former Chair of the UK Citizens Advice Bureau and former Chair of the UK National Lottery Commission. She is currently Chief Executive of the British Lung Foundation.

Controversy

Before resigning from the National Lottery Commission, she ordered that the then-operator, "Camelot", would be excluded from bidding for the next seven-year Lottery licence. That decision eased the way for Richard Branson's rival People's Lottery. However, a judge resurrected Camelot's bid in the High Court, ruling that the commission's dealings with Camelot had shown "a marked lack of even-handedness". He added "I have no doubt the commission was trying to be fair ... [but added] there is in my judgment no escaping the conclusion that the procedure decided on by the commission was conspicuously unfair to Camelot." [Walker, Andrew (5 October 2000). " [Dame Helena: Lottery loser] " "BBC". Access date, August 24, 2007.]

Patrick Shovelton

Brought up in North London, she studied business at Regent Street Polytechnic and married Patrick Shovelton in 1968. Her husband is a cousin of Patrick Pearse, the Irish rebel leader executed in 1916. Patrick Shovelton is a notable figure in the civil aviation and shipping industries and a leading player in Britain's European Economic Community entry negotiations in the early 1970s.

Career

Dame Helena's public career began with the Citizens' Advice Bureau in Tunbridge Wells. She went on to chair the organisation's national association. She also served as chairman of the Audit Commission, and as a member of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission and the Local Government Commission.

She was once the managing director of a dating agency called Gentlepeople, where she vetted prospective lovebirds.

Links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/957805.stmnews.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/957805.stm BBC report on resignation from Lottery Commission]
* [http://www.uklcc.org.uk/pdf/DameHelenaShovelton.pdf UK Lung Foundation]

References