About Us.

Raymond has been involved in the political scene in Scotland, Westminster and Europe for well over 30 years having formerly been Minister for Education, Housing, Fisheries and Sport at the Scottish Office, and before that served as Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Northern Ireland Office. He was MP for Aberdeen South, for 5 years between 1992 and 1997, and Chairman, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. Raymond is a Founding Partner of Halogen Communications, founded in 2002. Since its formation, Halogen has gone on to become one of the premier public affairs and public relations companies in Scotland.

Raymond is a highly skilled political strategist having advised some of the UK’s biggest companies and organisations on matters relating to Scotland. He is an excellent communicator and has a vast breadth of knowledge relating to crisis management and strategic advice. He is also an experienced media operator with regular appearances on political discussion programmes and news interviews.

John is a founding partner of Halogen Communications having previously been an advertising executive. John works across all client accounts including Nestle, Philip Morris, Aldi and Airbnb.

Before this John was Chief of Staff for the Scottish Conservatives working on campaign strategy and interaction with the media. During this time, he forged excellent links with the media and developed a great deal of experience in event planning and management and dealing with VIP visitors. He also set up the Party’s Parliamentary Research Unit in the Scottish Parliament which is still running today.

John’s first ‘career’ was as a civil servant at the Scottish Office in Edinburgh and London. During his 8 years there he developed an excellent understanding of civil service protocol and the workings of government at Westminster.

Leslie has a strong track record in political consultancy having worked for Halogen for over seven years since joining from a political intelligence firm which he worked for after completing his postgraduate studies. He now leads on policy and research as part of Halogen’s public affairs work, helping clients navigate and understand the often complex landscape of Scottish politics. He also assists the Partners of the business in terms of providing strategic counsel and tactical communication advice to clients.

A talented researcher and policy analyst, he helps clients with submitting government consultation responses and written evidence for parliamentary committees, provides briefing papers on policy issues across a range of portfolios for internal and external use, as well as compiling bespoke monitoring reports on relevant parliamentary and stakeholder activity. He has provided such services for multinational and UK and Scotland based clients and has particular knowledge and expertise of public health policy in Scotland.

One of the first graduates from Bell College’s flagship HND in Journalism Studies course, Fraser started as a freelance in 1998 at The Herald, where his talents were soon recognized with promotion to editorial management positions.

Eager to expand his knowledge, in 2003 he moved from Scotland’s best-selling broadsheet newspaper to the country’s top tabloid at the time – the Daily Record. The keen sportsman then headed overseas before returning home to take up roles at the Daily Express and Daily Mail.

As well as being an award-winning journalist in the UK, Fraser gained invaluable experience in project management and media communications across various platforms while working for Qatar Foundation in Doha; liaising with clients such as FC Barcelona, Texas A&M University at Qatar, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar to name but a few.

In a career spanning four decades, Fraser joined Halogen in summer 2022 and will be a great addition to the team.

Donald leads on Halogen’s media training activities and comes with an excellent pedigree having trained many top executives and professionals on how to conduct themselves during encounters with the media. Donald provides the full range of skills for someone preparing to face the media for the first time, as well as providing further tuition for the more experienced on how further to improve performance.

These can include, but are not limited to, press release writing, on camera work, personal presentation, business ethics training and oratory skills. Donald has one of the highest legal profiles in Scotland and is widely considered to be Scotland’s premier criminal law advocate. He is also a noted after-dinner speaker and media commentator.

Laura provides additional media and public relations advice and support to clients. Laura has a sound knowledge of the Scottish public sector and political and media landscape, having worked for a renowned publishing house. She has an instinctive grasp of what makes a good media story and is tenacious in her approach.

Laura graduated from the University of Glasgow with a degree in Law and the University of Strathclyde with a degree in Journalism.