Lobbying firm pressed for details about payments to journalists for favourable stories | Lobbying
A political lobbying firm that secretly paid journalists for articles that benefited its clients has faced calls to disclose full details of the payments after the practice was condemned as a dangerous “assault on democracy”.
MPs, senior lobbyists and transparency campaigners have all condemned the behavior of CT Group, co-founded by election guru campaign strategist Lynton Crosby, previously employed by David Cameron and Boris Johnson.
There have been calls for an overhaul of lobbying rules and demands that CT Group reveal the full scope of the practice, which was revealed following a four-month Guardian investigation.
“Lobbyists paying journalists to produce ostensibly independent articles is an attack on journalistic ethics, public relations and indeed democracy,” said Alastair McCapra, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Public Affairs. CT Group is not a member of this organization.
“Anyone in this country can practice public relations without belonging to a professional body or abiding by a code of conduct. The majority do so ethically, but these reported practices undermine our profession and erode the credibility on which responsible lobbying and public relations depend.”
Lobbyists for CT Group told an undercover reporter that they paid journalists to put seemingly independent stories in newspapers. They also offered a cash incentive of hundreds of pounds to do the same for a client in the property sector, saying that in exchange for payment CT Group would increase editorial control.
Jemimah Steinfeld, chief executive of the Index on Censorship, said: “Distorting lobbying as journalism is short-sighted and frankly dangerous.” He called on CT Group to launch an internal investigation.
Steve Goodrich, head of research and investigations at Transparency International UK, said: “When lobbyists secretly pay journalists to write positive stories for their clients, it undermines the integrity of the press. This investigation raises serious questions about the management of CT Group and how widespread these secret arrangements are in the lobbying industry.”
Luke Taylor, the Liberal Democrat member of parliament’s public administration and constitutional affairs committee, said there should now be “full transparency about when money changes hands when it comes to reporting”.
“We are seeing worrying signs that our democracy is in danger,” he said. “A truly free press is a pillar of a healthy democracy, and so we must do everything we can to maintain it.”
Sam Carling, a Labor MP on the committee, said: “If secret payments or other ethical failings are widely occurring then the government should consider giving the Office of the Registrar of Lobbying Consultants regulatory powers to hold lobbyists to account.”
Rupa Huq, a Labor member of the Commons media select committee, said: “We need more transparency in lobbying, which is almost like the wild west, such is the lack of regulation.” He added: “I hope the new Andy Burnham government can address this issue.”
The Guardian began investigating the regulations after CT Group approached a freelance journalist and offered to pay him to submit an article to a British national newspaper about problems caused to the housebuilding industry by the Building Safety Regulator, which was set up in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people.
CT Group is a lobbying firm with an annual turnover of £40 million and whose recent clients include tobacco firm Philip Morris and the owner of Manchester City football club.
In a statement, CT Group said: “We do not comment publicly on the work we do for clients and therefore cannot respond to the specific allegations you have made.”
He said there had been a “deliberate mischaracterization” of events and that he had not commissioned the undercover journalist for anything and had not paid him anything. He said the journalist was looking for work and “pursued us relentlessly for more than six months.”
The investigation also raised concerns about the fragility of freelance journalism, which often involves irregular and low-paid work.
“If reporters are being paid by private companies to publish stories in newspapers, this breaches the essential buffer zone between lobbying and journalism,” said Martin Bright, senior lecturer in journalism at the University of Essex.
“The market for freelance journalists is very tough in the current media environment. They should never be exploited in this way.”
