Richard Benyon

After a career in the Army, Richard studied at the Royal Agricultural University, then worked as a Land Agent and qualified as a Chartered Surveyor. 

He was a local Councillor in West Berkshire in the 1990s and then pursued a further career in politics before being elected to Parliament for the Newbury constituency in 2005.  From 2010 to 2013 he was Environment Minister at DEFRA.   He chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Environment Group, was a member of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee and led the UK delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Richard stood down as an MP in 2019.

He is a Privy Councillor and now sits in the House of Lords as Lord Benyon of Englefield. Richard was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from May 2021 to July 2024 and Minister of State at the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office from November 2023 to July 2024.

Richard is a Trustee or Patron of many local charities, was a founder Trustee of Help for Heroes and lives at Englefield with his wife Zoe and their family.