Rachel Whetstone: from Tory power broker to Silicon Valley PR guru

Before joining - and quitting - scandal-hit Uber, Whetstone advised senior Conservatives and led communications at Google

For the best part of two decades, Rachel Whetstone has served as public relations guru to some of Britain's most powerful Conservative politicians and the world's best-known corporations.

Born in East Sussex to a wealthy family, the 49-year-old has a Conservative pedigree. Her grandfather, Antony Fisher, made his fortune importing intensive chicken farming from the US to the UK; he used his millions to help set up right-leaning thinktanks and lobby groups, such as the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and the Adam Smith Institute.