House of Lords peers Lord Dannatt and Lord Evans of Watford face suspension after breaking lobbying rules
Two leading members of the House of Lords are facing suspension after they were found to have breached parliamentary rules of conduct regarding potential financial gain.
Separate investigations concluded that Lord Dannatt, a former commander of the British army, and Lord Evans of Watford had breached regulations banning the provision of parliamentary services for “payment or reward”.
The Independent Standards Commissioner’s findings and recommendations were subsequently approved by the Lords’ Conduct Committee.
This resulted in Lord Dannatt being suspended for four months, while Lord Evans faced being banned from parliament for five months.
Neither colleague objected to the Commissioner’s conclusions or the proposed sanctions. Both suspensions are expected to be approved by the House of Commons before they officially come into force.
The investigations were launched in response to comments made by both colleagues to undercover journalists.
Lord Dannatt was found to have shown “a clear willingness to undertake an activity that would amount to paid parliamentary services” during their meeting, but no monetary exchange was made.
Evidence later emerged of three separate cases in which Lord Dannatt provided parliamentary services in return for payment.
These included corresponding with ministers and officials on behalf of companies with a financial interest and, in two cases, attending a meeting with a minister or senior official.
The companies involved were UK Mittrogen, Teledyne UK and Blue International Holdings.
The Conduct Committee said it “gave due weight to Lord Dannatt’s expressions of regret and recognition of the potential damage such cases could do to the reputation of the House.”
But he added: “The key aggravating factor in the case was that there were four separate findings of breaches of the law. The sheer number of Lord Dannatt’s inappropriate interactions with ministers or officials and the fact that they continued over a two-year period justify a significant sanction.”
Lord Evans allegedly offered “cash 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 said Lord Evans had not acted contrary to his personal dignity when he told undercover journalists 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 concluded that Lord Evans had breached House of Lords event rules because 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, the sponsor of the events, “could not satisfy himself that the events complied with the rules of the House”.
Lord Dannatt said in a statement: “The Commissioner found that I had breached the Code of Conduct on these three matters.
“For the record, the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists also investigated two UK-based matters and concluded that I was not a consultant lobbyist.
“I deeply regret the commissioner’s findings regarding my personal dignity and have determined that the honorable course of action is to accept the appropriate sanction, not to waste the Conduct Committee’s time by objecting to the findings.
“I also accept that ignorance of all aspects of the Code is not a defence, and that registering my interests with the Lords Interests Registrar and declaring my relevant interests in correspondence and meetings is, as on all three counts, inadequate.
“I also understand that my motivation on three counts, acting in good faith in the national interest, is not an excuse or justification for violating the Code of Conduct.
“At almost seventy-five, no one is too old to learn, and I hope these activities will be placed in the context of my 56 years of public service.”
