Richard Hillgrove

Richard John Hillgrove, MA FRSA, (born Christchurch, New Zealand, 24 July 1971) is a public relations consultant. He describes himself in his blog as "a well known, outspoken media and social commentator." He was formerly a writer and producer in New Zealand. Hillgrove's clients have included Saatchi and Saatchi and Levi Strauss. He has also worked for Dragon's Den regulars Duncan Bannatyne and James Caan and credits himself with inventing the idea of the celebrity businessman.
Criminal charges
In 2012 H.M. Revenue & Customs raided Hillgrove's home in Glastonbury, where he was arrested and taken to Taunton police station. He was subsequently charged with cheating the public revenue out of £52,000 in VAT and £41,000 in PAYE tax and National Insurance over a 13-month period. Hillgrove stood trial at Taunton Crown Court in 2012, but the case was transferred to Bristol due to a potential prejudicial issue. The case was then aborted by the Judge due to a scheduling conflict, to resume at a later date. Hillgrove strongly refutes the charges and has announced he will be suing HMRC and his former accountants.
Nigella Lawson case
More recently, Hillgrove is believed to have acted for both Charles Saatchi and the Grillo sisters in connection with the recent prosecution of the sisters for theft from Nigella Lawson and her husband Saatchi and has been accused of orchestrating a smear campaign against Lawson in the British media. Lawyers for Lawson have demanded that Hillgrove remove comments about her made in his blog.

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