Anthony Bailey (PR advisor)

Bailey was born in London on 13 January 1970 and brought up in Ruislip, attending The Douay Martyrs School[1] then University College London.[lower-alpha 1] His father, Colin, was an engineer and instructor at FÁS, an Irish state body responsible for training the unemployed.[4] Before entering public relations, Bailey sold men's suits and worked in a pizza restaurant.[1]

Bailey was a senior account director for communications firm Burson-Marsteller, which he joined in 1993,[1] chairman of his own company Eligo International (incorporated in 1998), then chairman of Anthony Bailey Ltd, a public relations company incorporated in 2014. Eligo International was dissolved in January 2016 with their final accounts showing funds of -£85,000.[5] Anthony Bailey Ltd did not trade until 2016, and in accounts posted that year showed liabilities of more than £40,000.[6] Anthony Bailey Ltd was dissolved by order of Companies House in October 2020.[7] Its most recent accounts from 2018 showed it had built up losses of more than £220,000.[7]

In 2007 The Observer referred to Bailey as a "PR guru who is one of the most influential men you have never heard of" and "a key player in the world of Catholic and Middle East politics."[1] Bailey's descriptions of his own occupation have included "Public Relations Consultant" (2010), "Royal And Diplomatic Consultant" (2011), and "Head R. Order of Knighthood" (2004).[8]

Bailey was co-president of the think-tank British Influence and a supporter of Britain's membership of both the European Union and the Commonwealth.[9] He was a supporter of the Conservative Party until 1999 from which time he aligned himself with the Labour Party.[10] He made a substantial donation to the failed leadership campaign of David Miliband in 2010.[10]

In 2005, it emerged that a £500,000 donation Bailey had made to the Labour party had been rejected by its chief fundraiser, Lord Levy, who allegedly feared the money had come from foreign businessmen. Bailey insisted the money was his own and issued legal proceedings. He later said: "The Labour party has apologised unreservedly for any distress that the affair caused". A subsequent donation of £50,000 was accepted.[1]

In the 1990s, Bailey "revived" the so-called "Delegation for Great Britain and Ireland of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George", under the authority of Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, who is the "Franco-Neapolitan branch" claimant to the headship of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.[11] (The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies has controlled no territory since the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was suppressed in 1860. Since 1960 the headship of the House has been disputed.) In 2009 Bailey was appointed "magistral delegate" of the Delegation, and the organisation has awarded him other honours.[12] Bailey has never been an officer or member of the long-established version of the Order, which is under the authority of Prince Pedro, Duke of Calabria, the "Hispano-Neapolitan branch" claimant to the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. The longstanding version of the Order has no connection with Bailey, nor with his business activities, nor with the order of which he is described as "delegate".[13]

In December 2020, Bailey resigned from all the roles he held in his branch of the Constantinian Order, citing its impact on his "physical and mental health",[14] though his personal website still lists him as a "campaigner" for the order. There has been no announcement of a successor, although the order's website continues to be maintained.

Bailey was appointed in 1999 as executive chairman of the Saudi organization "Painting & Patronage".[15] (The UK company "Painting and Patronage" was dissolved in 2014.[16]) From December 2005 to November 2013, Bailey was a director of the United Learning Trust.[17] He was, from December 2009 to July 2016, a director of St Mary's University.[18]

In 2016, Bailey was appointed President of the Executive Council of the Portuguese Centenary Appeal.[19] He is also a Patron of the Faiths Forum for London.[20]

In 1995 police recorded his telephone conversations with a client, who claimed to be a Libyan prince. Bailey was accused of blackmailing the client, but the case was dismissed before it got to court.[1] Bailey complained to the Press Complaints Commission about the way this was reported in the Daily Mail in 2010; in resolution, the PCC negotiated a statement from the Mail that it had omitted some details in reporting these circumstances, and that it apologised for any distress caused.[21]

Bailey claimed to be Ambassador-at-Large for The Gambia between 2004 and 2007,[22][23] though the Gambian High Commission in London said at the time that they don't know much about him and "He has no office here".[24]

According to the Prime Minister of Grenada, Keith Mitchell, Bailey asked to be made the country's ambassador to the Holy See, which Mitchell rejected.[25]

For many years, Bailey has sought honours and awards, particularly those of chivalric orders. Some were received in exchange for awards bestowed by Bailey's recreated order of knighthood, and some awards received have since been revoked amid controversy.

• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Sylvester (GCSS) - July 2009;[42] Knight Commander (KCSS) - 2004[43]

• Knight Grand Cross of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (KGCHS) - July 2017[44]

• Grand Officer of the Order of San Carlos - 2008, in a reciprocal arrangement whereby Bailey's Order and Colombian authorities gifted awards to each other.[45]

• Sternberg Interfaith Gold Medallion - 2012[46]

• "How do we tell the real story?", pp. 61–69 in Having Faith in Foreign Policy, London, (2007)[49]

• Anthony Bailey Consulting