In 1983, whilst at university, he joined the Territorial Army (TA), the part-time reserve force of the British Army.[10] Given the service number 523962, Francois was commissioned as a second lieutenant (on probation) on 18 December 1985.[13] On 1 February 1988, he transferred from the general list to the Royal Anglian Regiment.[14][15] His commission was confirmed in 1988, and he was granted seniority in the rank of second lieutenant from 18 December 1983.[16] He was promoted lieutenant on 18 September 1988, with seniority in that rank from 18 December 1985.[16] He left the Territorial Army on 21 September 1989.[17]
After university, Francois became a management trainee with Lloyds Bank. He then worked as a political consultant for the lobbying company Market Access International in 1988, leaving to set up his own lobbying firm, Francois Associates, in 1996, which he closed when he was elected as an MP in 2001.[18][19][20]
He was promoted to be Shadow Minister for Europe on 3 July 2007, and joined the Shadow Cabinet at the January 2009 reshuffle. As Shadow Minister for Europe Francois oversaw the Conservative Party's withdrawal from the EPP grouping in the European Parliament, the creation of the ECR grouping and the Conservatives' opposition in the House of Commons to the Treaty of Lisbon, which he spoke against on many occasions including on 5 March 2008 in the debate to pass the European Union (Amendment) Act 2008.[27]
He was appointed Minister of State for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans in the Ministry of Defence in September 2012. From October 2013 to May 2015, he was Minister of State with responsibility for the armed forces, cyber activity, and force generation.[33]
Francois left the government after Theresa May was appointed prime minister, but she appointed him to conduct a review into the use of reserves in the Army.[35]
At the 2017 general election, Francois was re-elected as the MP for Rayleigh and Wickford with an increased majority of 23,450 votes.[36]
Since September 2017, Francois has sat on the Defence Select Committee and is a former member of the Administration Committee, the Committee of Selection, Defence Committee and Environmental Audit Committee.[37] He is a vice-president of Conservative Friends of Poland.[38]
In September 2019, Essex Police issued clarification on Francois' status, when he joined one of their patrols in a Rayleigh, EssexWetherspoons pub in his capacity as the local MP. He appeared to be dressed as a uniformed police officer, including wearing a police issue stab vest. Essex Police said that they had wrongly issued the jacket to the MP and confirmed that Francois is not employed by them. They used the statement to add that they are however currently recruiting.[39][40]
In 2019, Francois became one of the 28 so called Tory "Brexit Spartans" who voted against Theresa May's Brexit deal all three times it was put to the House of Commons.[41]
At the 2019 general election, Francois was re-elected with an increased majority of exactly 31,000[42] and achieved 72.6% of the vote.[42] In January 2020, he launched a crowdfunding bid with the StandUp4Brexit group to raise money for Big Ben to chime upon the UK's departure from the EU.[43]
On 3 March 2020, Francois was announced as chair of the ERG, succeeding Steve Baker.[44] In this capacity he wrote to Michel Barnier, head of the task force negotiating the post-Brexit relationship between the UK and the EU, a letter titled "A Missive from a Free Country".[45][46] Barnier replied in an open letter.[47][48]
In November 2022, Labour MP Sarah Owen criticised Francois for using an "outdated and crass racial slur" in the House of Commons when he referred to Japanese people as "Japs". Francois used the term when asking a question on defence, saying: "Given the defence budget is likely to come under great pressure, why does it take BAE Systems eleven years to build a ship the Japs can build in four?"[50] Francois later said he was complimenting the Japanese shipbuilding industry and used "Japs" as an abbreviation for Japanese.[50]
Francois was again re-elected at the 2024 general election, with a decreased vote share of 37% and a decreased majority of 5,621.[51][52]
Personal life
Francois married Karen Thomas at Langdon Hills, Basildon, in June 2000. They divorced in 2006.[7]
On 11 June 2022, Francois married Olivia Sanders, a NHS radiographer, borough councillor, and former Conservative Mayor of Brentwood.[53][54]
