Britain in today’s world was a hot topic last night as the Rt. Hon. Lord Hurd of Westwell returned to Bath to meet with some of the city’s top local entrepreneurs.

Lord Hurd hosted a dinner for clients of Coutts & Co in his capacity as Deputy Chairman of the UK’s leading private bank. On the agenda for the evening were politics, the economy and the local environment, and the impact of these on the business world in modern times.

He was joined by Peter Doherty, senior private banker responsible for the Bath regional office, Paul Crook and Marc Cuddihy, both Coutts private bankers in Bath.

The visit followed the success of a dinner evening hosted in March, at which Lord Hurd addressed the issues facing the global investment market in 2003.

Commenting on his most recent visit, Lord Hurd said: “I always look forward to my visits to Bath and am delighted to have returned in my capacity as Deputy Chairman of Coutts & Co. With the Bath office of Coutts currently managing £103m worth of assets in the region, this is a very exciting area for the business. I very much enjoyed meeting with the clients once again.”

The visit comes as Coutts & Co moves into the final stages of its regional expansion programme, where the private bank has increased the number of private bankers in its 16 regional offices by nearly 30%. The Bath office has increased its team by a third in the past year in response to local demand, reflecting the continuing success of Coutts in the area.

The Rt. Hon. Lord Hurd of Westwell, CH, CBE, PC

As the successful candidate for Mid-Oxon, Lord Hurd was first elected to parliament in 1974. During an accomplished political career, he served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1984-85), for the Home Office (1985-89) and for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs (1989-95).

Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, Lord Hurd obtained a first class degree in history and was president of the Cambridge Union in 1952. After joining the Diplomatic Service, he went on to serve at the Foreign Office in Peking, New York (UN) and Rome. He ran Edward Heath’s private office from 1968-70 and acted as his Political Secretary at 10 Downing Street from 1970-74.

Lord Hurd was appointed Deputy Chairman of Coutts & Co in 1998.

Lord Hurd was also appointed Chairman, British Invisibles in 1997. He is Chairman of the Prison Reform Trust Charity. He was Chairman of the 1998 Booker Prize for Fiction.He became a member of the Royal Commission on the Reform of the House of Lords in February 1999.

For further information, please contact:

Claire Symonds, Press Officer, Coutts Group on 020 7957 2650 or mobile 07970 001149, or e-mail claire.symonds@coutts.com.

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