Denmark’s PM office denies lobbyist firing demand

The Prime Minister’s Office of Denmark has denied allegations that one of Mette Frederiksen’s advisors demanded the firing of a consultant from Rud Petersen following his public criticism of the Social Democrats. This statement comes amidst an investigation initiated by the Ombudsman into the refusal of the Prime Minister’s Office to grant access to a text message sent between the advisor and the consultancy firm. The controversy began with a Jyllands-Posten article featuring critical comments from Sune Steffen Hansen, a partner at Rud Petersen, who was later dismissed from his position. Subsequent to media reporting on an SMS exchange preluding the firing, the Prime Minister’s Office denied a freedom of information request regarding the message. Legal experts question the legitimacy of withholding the SMS, while the PM’s Office maintains that dialogue between special advisors and societal actors is normal and expected.