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Our Trainers

Mike Granatt

Mike Granatt CB FIPR joined Luther as a partner in January 2004 after 25 years in Whitehall, 18 in top-level director of communication posts. He is also Visiting Professor for the Communication School, University of Westminster.

Mike was Director-General of the Government Information and Communication Service (GICS) for seven years until he joined Luther Pendragon. He was also responsible for the Government News Network, the regional press operation with offices across Great Britain. Before then, he had been responsible for all news handling, marketing communication and internal communication for the Energy and Environment Departments, the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police Service. He also sat on their management boards.

Mike joined the Civil Service in 1979 after working on newspapers and specialist journals. His government career spanned policies ranging from energy efficiency to nuclear power, from local government policy to biodiversity, from broadcasting to spectrum regulation, and from crime prevention to counter-terrorism. He worked on the privatisations of the gas and electricity industries, and on major internal projects such as the Met's Plus Programme, an intensive change campaign for 44,000 staff.

Mike is an acknowledged expert on crisis planning and management. Among the many problems he handled were the Piper Alpha oil platform disaster, the Millennium Bug, and the fuel tax protests of 2000. From June 2001 until late 2002, and alongside his GICS role, he devised and led the UK Government's civil crisis management unit, the Cabinet Office Civil Contingencies Secretariat. He also developed the News Co-ordination Centre, the public information hub for national emergencies.

On behalf of the UK Government, Mike has advised several overseas governments on their communication arrangements. He has also been a regular lecturer on risk and crisis communication at the UK Emergency Planning College, Easingwold, Yorkshire, and at other venues worldwide.

Ken Horner

Ken Horner joined the West Yorkshire police, (one of the largest Forces in the UK) in 1961. He served in a wide range of operational and managerial posts, including that of Force Press Officer, attaining the rank of chief superintendent.

In 1973 he was awarded a Bramshill scholarship to read law at Newcastle-upon-Tyne University and in 1983 he attended the FBI academy course in the USA. He was seconded as staff officer to Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary for two years in 1984. In 1987, he attended the senior command course at the Police Staff College, Bramshill, and in the same year was appointed Assistant Chief Constable in the Cleveland Constabulary. As Assistant Chief Constable (Operations), Ken served on the Traffic Committee and the Emergency Procedures Subcommittee and the Association of Chief Police Officers.

In 1995 Ken retired from the police service and joined the Home Office Emergency Planning College as Course Director and Police Liaison Officer. At the College he specialised in inter-agency working, civil nuclear incidents, maritime incidents, evacuation, police seminars as well as those for chief executives of local government.
He is still involved in the UK-based training for the Government of Singapore and is now a consultant on disaster reduction..