Former head of the British Army General Richard Dannatt suspended from House of Lords for four months for breaking lobbying rules

The former professional commander of the British Army has been given a four-month suspension from the House of Lords for breaching lobbying rules.

General Lord Richard Dannatt was found to have broken rules on the provision of parliamentary services in exchange for ‘payment or reward’ after being sarcastic by reporters.

Lord Dannatt, who was chief of staff between 2006 and 2009, told Guardian journalists that he could pose as a businessman and introduce them to ministers.

The Lords’ Conduct Committee approved the independent Standards Commissioner’s findings and recommendations.

In comments to journalists, the committee said he showed ‘a clear willingness to undertake activity that would amount to paid parliamentary service’.

During the investigation, it was revealed that there were three more cases in which he ‘provided parliamentary services for a fee’ by writing letters to ministers and attending meetings with them.

A second peer, Lord Evans of Watford, was suspended for five months for a separate incident.

Neither colleague objected to the Commissioner’s findings or recommended sanctions.

Lord Dannatt, who was chief of staff between 2006 and 2009, told Guardian journalists that he could pose as a businessman and introduce them to ministers.

During the inquiry Lord Dannatt admitted that he had misunderstood the rules, telling the Standards Commissioner:

‘I’m 75 this year, no one is too old to learn, and I’ve learned a painful lesson in the six months since the Guardian first published its story about me.

‘I regret that my misunderstanding of the Code of Conduct and the Guardian’s publication of deeply unwelcome articles have brought my reputation into disrepute and, more importantly, endangered the reputation of the House of Lords.’

Lord Evans allegedly offered ‘cash in exchange for access’ in meetings with undercover journalists posing as potential clients of Affinity, a company owned by his peer’s son.

Lord Evans held one-third of the shares in the company.

The commissioner found that Lord Evans had not acted with personal dignity when he told undercover journalists that he would be willing to introduce them to MPs, given his financial interest as a shareholder of Affinity.

It was also revealed that Lord Evans provided parliamentary services to the company, sponsoring events in the House of Lords on behalf of the company and appealing to members of the House of Lords to speak at these events, thus receiving financial incentives.

The commissioner also found that Lord Evans had breached House of Lords event rules when tickets to the events were offered for sale at above cost.

The events were used to promote and stimulate Affinity’s business and Lord Evans, who sponsored the events, ‘could not satisfy himself that the events were in accordance with the rules of the House’.