LONDON—Following a consolidation, Freud Communications will manage creative public relations for the Department of Health. The Department has prioritized four campaigns; Change4Life, which will tackle issues relating to families and middle-aged adults, including drinking and diet and exercise; the Smokefree program; an integrated campaign for older people that will take a more holistic approach to wellbeing in later life; and a new program, targeting young people, that will seek to influence behaviors, such as smoking, binge drinking, experimenting with drugs and risky sexual behaviors.

LONDON—Burger King has appointed Cohn & Wolfe to handle corporate and public affairs in the UK and Ireland. The agency is charged with developing an engaging corporate narrative and public affairs dialogue for 2012 and beyond. Louise Burman (corporate) and Andrew Escott (public affairs) will lead the Cohn & Wolfe teams, reporting into Burger King EMEA communications manager Helena Smales and UK and Ireland marketing director Jo Blundell.

BRUSSELS—MSLGroup has strengthened its European public affairs team with the addition of Serge Vanbockryck as director responsible for the PR and media practice in the Brussels office. Vanbockryck previously worked for Corvette and GM where he handled international motorsports communications for the past 12 years. He began his career as a journalist, working for print media as well as radio and television in Belgium and abroad.

LONDON—MHP Communications has been appointed by Phones 4u, one of the UK’s leading mobile phone retailers and mobile phone insurance providers, as its retained financial PR advisor to assist the group in communicating its growth story to bond holders, debt analysts, equity analysts and the financial media.

LONDON—Fishburn Hedges and sister agency Seventy Seven have won a competitive pitch to work with London Stansted Airport on consumer and corporate communications. The integrated brand reputation brief will see the team work together to attract more passengers to the airport. According to Will Parkes, communications director at Stansted: “We were very impressed by Fishburn Hedges Group’s energy and creativity in the pitch, and the blend of expertise from the team that they assembled.”

LONDON—Steve Bates has joined APCO Worldwide as a director in the healthcare practice, based in the London office with a particular focus on helping companies navigate medical technology approval and reimbursement issues. Prior to joining APCO, Bates spent five years at Genzyme UK and Ireland, most recently as senior director, external affairs and market access. Previously, he was special advisor to John Reid as Home Secretary, Secretary of State for Health, and Defence Secretary.

LONDON—Assured Guaranty, a leading provider of financial guarantee insurance, has appointed College Hill as its retained PR adviser in the UK and Europe. College Hill’s appointment reflects Assured Guaranty’s return to deal-making in Europe following the credit crisis. Client CEO Nick Proud says the company appointed College Hill “to raise awareness of Assured Guaranty and the benefits of credit enhancement and risk management that we provide for both bondholders and issuers.”

LONDON—Latin America-focused corporate communications and public affairs consultancy Speyside, formed by Mmd founder Alistair McLeish, has appointed Fiona McCollum as director. Formerly international client services director at Grayling, McCollum specialises in international corporate communications campaigns and emerging markets.

MOSCOW—Buman Media of Moscow has joined the Oriella PR Network, a technology-focused network of independent PT firms in 20 countries. Buman Media was established in 2009 and provides PR services to Russian and international companies including Adobe Systems, Headhunter, Alawar Entertainment, and Allied Telesis.