Every situation is different. Some people need me intensively for a few days, while others need support for several months.

I have worked for and alongside enough PR firms and agencies to know that the standard approach is often to sign clients into a six or twelve-month retainer. I do not work like that by default. Asking exactly how long a crisis will last at the beginning is a bit like asking how long a piece of string is.

Most of my crisis work is arranged month to month. We agree what I will be doing, the fee is paid upfront and, towards the end of the month, we decide whether the support is still needed. You are not tied into paying for months of work after the situation has settled.

If it is clear from the beginning that the work will be longer term, I will include a retainer option in my proposal. Retainers have a slightly lower monthly rate to reflect the longer commitment, and both options will be set out clearly so you can decide which makes more sense.

I am also aware that you may be choosing someone during one of the most sensitive periods of your life. You need to trust the person you are working with and feel able to tell them the truth. You may decide that we do not click, and I respect that. I do not think anyone should have to commit to six months before they know whether the working relationship feels right.

For a sense of cost, one-hour advisory sessions are £500, including research beforehand and a written summary afterwards. Lighter ongoing reputation management starts from £1,800 a month. More involved crisis work is quoted once I understand what is happening and how much support you are likely to need.

The first call is free. There are no hidden costs, and nothing begins until we have agreed the work and the fee.

No. Crisis PR is my particular specialism, but it's only one part of reputation management.

I also work with clients on proactive PR, interviews, profiles, announcements, thought leadership, public positioning and ongoing media relations. Some clients come to me because something has happened. Others simply want experienced PR support and a stronger public profile.

So, if I've emailed you about somebody I represent, don't automatically assume they're in trouble. I might just be doing their PR.

Of course. Almost everyone who needs crisis PR is controversial at that particular moment. If nobody objected to them, they probably would not be calling me.

Working with someone is not the same as endorsing them. A solicitor does not have to agree with a client to believe they are entitled to proper representation. My job is different, but the principle is similar. I am not there to share a client’s opinions. I am there to make sure their response is accurate, responsible and does not cause further harm.

Refusing to work with a controversial person does not silence them. It may simply leave them taking advice from friends, fans or people who will agree with everything they say. I would rather there were an independent person in the room willing to say: do not post that, do not repeat that claim, apologise for this, and step away before you make the situation worse.

I know I have prevented damaging statements and rhetoric from reaching the public because I was willing to have those conversations.

Being accused of something is not the same as being guilty. Innocent until proven guilty is a basic principle, but the court of public opinion rarely waits. I have seen false claims repeated as facts, complicated legal cases reduced to headlines and important outcomes receive a fraction of the attention given to the original allegation.

I listen to the full story before forming an opinion. You do not need to persuade me that you are perfect or leave out the part you think makes you look bad. What matters is that we are honest with one another, because that is how I can give you advice that genuinely protects you.

Some clients have done nothing wrong. Some have made mistakes. Many are somewhere in between. My job is not to judge which category makes somebody worthy of help. It is to understand what actually happened and help them deal with it properly.

I work with people who have made mistakes, people facing claims they dispute and people who have done nothing wrong at all.

You do not need to rehearse a version that makes you look better before we speak. Tell me what actually happened, including the part you think makes you look bad. After years of doing this, I am unlikely to be shocked, and I am not interested in judging you. You will probably already have enough of that online.

If you need to take responsibility for something, I will help you do it properly. If something being said about you is false, exaggerated or missing important context, I will help correct it. Quite often, both things need dealing with at the same time.

My clients don’t hire me to build my reputation. They hire me to protect theirs.

I could fill this website with recognisable names, client photographs and dramatic case studies. It might make the business easier to market, but it would also give anyone considering hiring me a very good reason not to trust me.

People usually contact me at an incredibly vulnerable moment. Many do not want the public to know they have PR support, let alone have the details of their situation used as promotional material afterwards.

Most of my clients come through recommendations and word of mouth from people who already know how I work. That means I do not need to turn private client situations into public proof of my experience.

Unless a client has explicitly chosen to speak about working with me, their identity stays private. I do not publish client lists, use their photographs or share identifiable details from their cases.

Discretion is not something I add at the end of the work. It is part of the service from the first conversation.

It is very difficult to give an honest timeline at the beginning because much of this work relies on third parties.

I can contact journalists, make introductions, pitch an interview, provide evidence, chase corrections and put the strongest possible case to a publication or platform. After that, we may be waiting for an editor to respond, a broadcaster to find space in its schedule, a social media platform to review a report or Google to recognise that something has changed.

Even when the answer is yes, the timing may still belong to somebody else. A broadcaster might agree to an interview but schedule it several weeks later. A publication may accept that an article needs amending but take time to make the change. Search engines and AI tools move according to their own systems.

Some crises calm down within hours, while others take weeks or months. Anyone giving you an exact completion date before understanding all the moving parts is guessing.

I will always be honest about what we can control, what depends on somebody else and how long I think each part may take. If the timeline changes, I will tell you rather than repeatedly moving an unrealistic deadline.

What if lawyers or the police are involved?

That's common, and it changes how I work rather than whether I can. Legal advice and reputational advice often point in opposite directions, and someone has to hold both at once instead of letting each side act on its own. If you have a solicitor, I'll work with them. If you need one, I'll tell you.

Where there's a police investigation, there are real limits on what can be said publicly, and getting that wrong can damage the case as well as the coverage. I'll work within those limits and make sure the silence itself isn't doing you harm.

What you tell me is treated as confidential. I do not discuss clients, confirm who I work with or share the details of your situation with people who do not need to know.

If you tell me that you may have committed a crime in the past, I do not automatically contact the police. I will usually advise you to speak to a solicitor and, with your permission, work alongside them on the PR response.

There are limits. I cannot help conceal an ongoing or planned crime, ignore an immediate risk of serious harm or refuse to disclose information if I am legally required to provide it.

I am a PR adviser, not a solicitor, so our conversations do not automatically have the same legal protection as conversations with your lawyer. An NDA can be signed before we speak, but the same legal limits will still apply.

Yes, I do. Both can be offered on their own or as part of wider reputation management.

I have worked with and for a number of PR firms over the years, so I understand how traditional PR works and have established relationships with journalists, editors and producers. I can help with interviews, profiles, announcements, launches, thought leadership and building a stronger public profile.

I also offer private media training for individuals and teams. This can be preparation for a specific interview or more general support as you become more visible. We work through likely questions, difficult subjects and how to answer naturally without sounding as though you have memorised a script.

Some clients use traditional PR to move forward after a difficult period, while others simply want to become better known for the right work. In either case, we will agree what you want the coverage to achieve and build the approach around that.

Tell me it is urgent when you get in touch.

In an active crisis, I can usually begin within an hour. We will have a quick call, establish what is happening and deal with whatever needs attention first, whether that is a journalist’s deadline, something that has just been published or a situation spreading online.

You do not need to write a perfect summary or have every fact in order before calling. We can work that out together.

Sometimes. Around 90 per cent of my work happens before a story reaches the public or press.

Before something becomes public, there are usually more options. I can establish who knows what, identify where the story may come from, prepare the facts and responses, speak to journalists where appropriate and work alongside lawyers so everybody is moving in the same direction.

Prevention is not necessarily about concealing something. Often, it means correcting a misunderstanding early, resolving the underlying problem or avoiding a panicked response that turns a manageable situation into a much bigger story.

I cannot promise that something will never become public. What I can say is that the earlier you contact me, the more we can usually do about it.

No. Journalists, publishers, platforms, search engines and the public all make their own decisions, so nobody can honestly guarantee exactly how a situation will end.

What I can do is explain what is realistic, reduce the avoidable risks and give the situation the best chance of reaching a better outcome.

I will not promise that an article will disappear, a platform will remove something or public attention will vanish overnight. If I think something is achievable, I will explain how. If I think it is unlikely, I will tell you before you spend money pursuing it.

Yes. I am based in London but work with public figures, founders, brands and organisations worldwide, including across the US, Europe and APAC.

Most crisis work can be handled confidentially by phone and email, but I am also happy to fly out to meet clients and work with them in person when the situation requires it.

Where necessary, I can work alongside lawyers and advisers in the relevant country so that the response reflects the local media and legal landscape.

Sometimes, although neither Google nor an AI tool has a simple button that allows someone to rewrite the results.

The most effective work usually happens at the source. That can mean correcting inaccurate coverage, adding important legal updates, pursuing removal or de-indexing where there are proper grounds, and building stronger, accurate sources that search engines and AI tools can rely on.

Changes are rarely instant and nobody can guarantee exactly what an algorithm will display. I can identify why certain information is appearing and create a realistic strategy for changing what people find over time.

Sometimes. It depends on what has been published, whether it is inaccurate or outdated, the publisher involved and whether there are legal or editorial grounds for challenging it.

Removal is not always possible, but an article may be corrected, amended with an important legal update, de-indexed from search results or displaced by newer and more accurate information.

I will assess the coverage honestly and explain which options are realistic before recommending that you spend money pursuing them.

Yes. I offer keynote talks, interactive workshops, crisis simulations and private team sessions, in person or online.

We can explore PR, reputation, difficult communications or how your team would respond to a fictional crisis. Sessions are tailored to your audience, whether that is a leadership team, a whole company or a conference. You can find examples on my Speaking & Workshops page.

Yes. I help businesses plan, write and improve customer emails, company announcements, website copy and staff messages.

You can bring me a draft to review or ask me to start from scratch. We agree the audience, scope, deadlines and fee beforehand. This can be a straightforward writing project or something more sensitive where the wording needs particular care.

Yes. You can book a single advisory session, a writing project, media training, a talk or a workshop without committing to ongoing support.

If you need more involvement, I will explain the options. The arrangement should fit the work you need.

You don’t need to work that out before contacting me. Tell me briefly what is happening or what you want to achieve, along with any deadline.

I will explain where I can help and suggest an appropriate next step. Nothing starts until we have agreed the work and fee.