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The director of a British public relations agency, representing American pharmaceutical corporations, resigned from his role. This occurred after the U.S. embassy in London expressed apprehension about online remarks where he criticised President Donald Trump, who has advocated for the UK to increase its expenditure on medications.
Gavin Megaw’s departure from Hanover last month came after the U.S. embassy ceased communications with the PR company and lodged a complaint about his LinkedIn posts with the American Pharmaceutical Group, according to a document reviewed by the FT and an individual familiar with the circumstances.
The APG — which acts for drug manufacturers like Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, and Gilead in the UK and employs Hanover for strategic communications — was apprehensive about potential harm to its ties with the U.S. embassy, the source stated.
The embassy has played a crucial role in compelling the UK government to boost NHS spending on pharmaceuticals, following Trump’s accusations that European nations were “free-riding” on U.S. innovation and his threats of imposing drug tariffs.
Simultaneously, drug manufacturers have been pressing ministers to allocate more funds for medicines, while lamenting that a recoupment levy on their UK revenues saw an unexpected surge last year.
Megaw, who relinquished his positions as president and managing director of Hanover in late January, has removed the LinkedIn entries. However, fragments still visible via the Google search engine indicate Megaw posted about a “ridiculously rambling press conference” by Trump.
Another entry referenced “yet another day and another Trump controversy, this time concerning the Chagos Islands”, adding that governments globally were “caught in the Trump predicament”.
The individual briefed on the situation mentioned the U.S. embassy had been “furious” about the posts, further suggesting that “the clear implication was that their assistance to the APG would be adversely affected”.
“The U.S. embassy insisted that APG terminate Hanover’s contract . . . or they would no longer engage with them,” they explained, adding that the APG considered its relationship with the embassy to be “paramount” because “they’ve enabled pharmaceutical companies to overcome Treasury’s opposition to escalating drug prices”.
The APG ultimately discontinued its association with Hanover, with the PR firm now completing the remainder of its agreement.
In September, the FT reported that Warren Stephens, the U.S. ambassador to the UK, urged chancellor Rachel Reeves at a private meal to offer improved terms on medicine pricing to international drug producers.
As part of an agreement signed by London and Washington this year, the UK committed to investing approximately 25 percent more in innovative, safe, and effective therapies — marking the first significant increase in pharmaceutical spending in over two decades. The government confirmed this month that the arrangement would initially cost England’s health service £1bn over the first three years.
APG and Hanover jointly stated: “The agreement between the American Pharmaceutical Group and Hanover will conclude as scheduled following a periodic supplier performance review.”
The U.S. embassy and Megaw chose not to provide a comment.