BAA's PR chief resigns

The director of communications at BAA, Malcolm Robertson, has announced his resignation and triggered a search for the airport owner's fifth PR boss in as many years. Robertson, 38, said that after 12 years at the Heathrow operator he had decided to move on and is considering a "few options" elsewhere. However, he said the December snow fiasco, which paralysed the airport for four days in the runup to Christmas, had no bearing on his departure. "I was thinking about this in the second half of last year," he said. "Yes it was a difficult time [in December] but I have been at BAA for 12 years and I have been thinking for some time that I need to consider what I do next, [see] what the world outside BAA looks like." Robertson will step down in September after a handover period for his replacement, who will be the fifth communications director since 2006. Ian Hargreaves, a distinguished journalist, quit the role after Spain's Ferrovial led a successful takeover of BAA in 2006. He was replaced by Duncan Bonfield, now external communications director at Network Rail, who stepped down in 2007 and was replaced by Tom Kelly, former official spokesman for Tony Blair, who moved to the Financial Services Authority last year. One PR expert said BAA should use Robertson's departure as an opportunity to put in place a long-term communications strategy at the group, which has been rocked by takeover battles, terror scares, expansion rows and other headline-grabbing events over the past five years. The BAA chief executive, Colin Matthews, told staff in an email: "In the last 12 months [Robertson] has established a sound communications strategy that provides us with a good platform from which to build our reputation. Malcolm leaves with our very best wishes for the future." However, Robertson said he had no intention of pursuing a career in politics. Robertson is the son of Lord Robertson, former defence secretary under Tony Blair, and is married to Jane Smith, daughter of the late Labour party leader John Smith. "It is not something that I have ever given serious thought to," he said. Andrew Dowler, a partner at City PR firm Finsbury, which works with BAA, said: "Malcolm is a first-class operator. He combines great communications skills with an instinctive feel for the politics of any situation. He is also naturally calm in a crisis – that natural calm only being broken when Rangers score against his beloved Celtic. He has done a great job for BAA and I am sure will do likewise in another high-profile position." • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".