Former junior defence minister Jack de Vries has joined lobby firm Hill & Knowlton, which has a contract from the Dutch aerospace agency to lobby in favour of the Joint Strike Fighter jet project.

While junior minister, De Vries was in charge of government plans to replace the air force’s fleet of aging F-16s with the JSF aircraft.
According to the Telegraaf, he was a major supporter of the project.
De Vries, a Christian Democrat, was forced to step down after revelations he had had an affair with a subordinate at the ministry. He then set up his own PR company.
The former minister will be public affairs chief of the Dutch operation in his new job. Group director Ingo Heinen said it was not yet decided if De Vries would also have a role in promoting the JSF. ‘We have to be careful about this,’ he said.