Philip Davies lobbied culture minister to include measure after being entertained at Mayfair casino
The Conservative MP Philip Davies lobbied the government on behalf of a casino to introduce a measure that was then included in last week’s gambling white paper, it has emerged.
The MP for Shipley, in West Yorkshire, wrote in February to the culture secretary, Lucy Frazer, after being entertained at Les Ambassadeurs luxury casino in Mayfair, central London.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Dutch MEP hopes site will give early warning of suspicious tactics such as use of front organisations
A group of MEPs are launching a website for European parliament staff and EU officials to raise the alarm about “shady lobbying” by big tech firms and other interest groups.
Paul Tang, a Dutch Social Democrat MEP who is co-leading the initiative, said the “lobby leaks hotline” would be an early warning system and was necessary as the parliament had faced “shady lobbying” from powerful tech companies seeking to influence its decisions. He cited practices such as so-called astroturfing, where large companies use front organisations to represent their interests by the back door.
Continue reading...Cross-party committee agrees with findings of Kathryn Stone that Conservative MP breached rules on multiple occasions
The Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen has been suspended from the House of Commons for five days after being found to have breached rules on paid lobbying and declaring interests.
The MP for north-west Leicestershire was found to have repeatedly broken the MPs’ code of conduct by a cross-party committee, which endorsed findings from Kathryn Stone, the parliamentary commissioner for standards.
Continue reading...Next ethics adviser, when appointed by Rishi Sunak, will probably face calls to open at least two complex cases
Forty potential breaches of the ministerial code have never been referred for investigation by the ethics adviser, according to new data.
It comes as a parliamentary committee warned historic breaches of the code may never be investigated or resolved, including the conduct of the home secretary or Islamophobia claims against a former chief whip.
Meetings by Nadhim Zahawi and Kwasi Kwarteng with the Libyan politician Fathi Bashagha, organised by the lobbyist Mark Fullbrook who became Truss’s chief of staff.
Michael Gove’s acceptance of £120,000 in donations from property developers while serving as housing secretary.
Multiple meetings held by Anne-Marie Trevelyan with a Chinese state-owned nuclear power company with no record of what was discussed.
Continue reading...Representatives of Eurosceptic insist he had been left with no option but to appeal to European court of human rights
Lawyers for Owen Paterson have admitted the irony of the former MP bringing a case against the UK government at the European court of human rights, despite having previously called on Britain to “break free” of the court entirely.
Representatives for Paterson, a prominent Eurosceptic Conservative who resigned last year in the midst of a lobbying scandal, issued a statement on Monday insisting he had been left with no option but to appeal to a court whose authority he had previously questioned.
Continue reading...Exclusive: CT Group, co-owned by Lynton Crosby, planned secretive African campaign on behalf of Canadian mining giant
A lobbying firm with deep ties to the Conservative party planned a secretive campaign to influence elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in exchange for millions of pounds from a mining company.
Leaked documents suggest the influential firm co-owned by the veteran Tory strategist Sir Lynton Crosby agreed to help the mining company swing a presidential election in the central African country.
Continue reading...MPs who received gifts later appeared to speak favourably about Qatar in parliamentary debates
Qatar has spent more money on gifts and trips for British MPs in the past year than any other country, according to Observer analysis that reveals the Gulf state’s lobbying efforts ahead of next month’s football World Cup.
The Qatari government made gifts to members of parliament worth £251,208 in the 12 months to October 2022, including luxury hotel stays, business-class flights and tickets to horse-racing events.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Mark Fullbrook said to have acted as Fathi Bashagha’s PR adviser, as officials were lobbied on foreign policy
Mark Fullbrook, the No 10 chief of staff, accompanied a controversial Libyan politician involved in an attempted military coup to a meeting in the Foreign Office to lobby officials on foreign policy, it has emerged, raising further questions over his influence.
Labour has said Fullbrook’s position as Liz Truss’s most senior official is “untenable” after it was revealed that he facilitated unofficial meetings in June with senior cabinet ministers for Fathi Bashagha, a Libyan politician. Bashagha, who is seeking international support as a rival prime minister, has links to the Russian Wagner Group and a military strongman in the east of the country.
Continue reading...Mark Fullbrook accused of trying to change UK policy by arranging for ministers to meet Libyan politician
Labour has claimed Mark Fullbrook’s position as Downing Street chief of staff is no longer tenable after it was revealed that before his appointment he tried to change UK foreign policy by arranging for two cabinet ministers to meet Fathi Bashagha, a Libyan politician with links to the Russian Wagner Group.
The Guardian had previously reported that Fullbrook, as chief executive of Fullbrook Strategies, had lobbied on behalf of Bashagha, but the Sunday Times alleged he arranged for Bashagha to come to London in June, where he met the then business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, and the education secretary at the time, Nadhim Zahawi.
Continue reading...Total donated to parties by financial firms and individuals tied to the sector over two years, report says
Concerns have been raised over the City’s influence on Westminster, after a report found financial firms and individuals tied to the sector donated £15m to political parties and gave £2m to MPs during the pandemic.
The campaign group Positive Money tallied the gifts, expenses and donations handed to MPs, peers and their parties, as well as the value of income from politicians’ second jobs, saying it contributed to finance’s “oversized influence” on policymaking.
Continue reading...American Israel Public Affairs Committee has disguised its efforts to undermine pro-Palestinian candidates
The US’s most powerful pro-Israel lobby group is pouring millions of dollars into influencing Democratic congressional primary races to counter growing support for the Palestinian cause within the party, including elections today in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s money is focused on blocking female candidates who, if elected, are likely to align with “the squad” of progressive members of congress who have been critical of Israel.
Continue reading...Plans to require lobbyists to register their work for other countries delayed as key details yet to be worked out
Plans to require lobbyists, PR firms and other professionals in the UK to register their work for Russia, China or any other foreign country have been unexpectedly left out of the national security bill published on Wednesday.
Insiders said key decisions about what activities would have to be registered had yet to be taken, meaning the foreign agent scheme will have to be introduced via a government amendment to the bill in a few weeks.
Continue reading...Documents show gambling firms warned Treasury officials against tightening up industry laws
Some of Britain’s betting giants are revealed to have quietly lobbied Treasury officials against a proposed industry crackdown, claiming it will cost millions of pounds in lost tax receipts.
Executives representing Bet365, Paddy Power and Ladbrokes met officials from the Treasury and Revenue and Customs, warning a radical overhaul of the industry could drive gamblers to the black market. The meeting was with tax officials rather than ministers and was therefore not required to be automatically disclosed.
Continue reading...MP Clifford Hayes says reform is needed to rebuild public trust in political parties
A Victorian crossbench MP is set to introduce a motion to parliament next week calling on the government to overhaul the state’s “weak” donation laws.
It comes after the Centre for Public Integrity last week urged the government to strengthen rules around political donations, election advertising and lobbying ahead of the November poll.
Continue reading...Read some of the submissions to the committee considering new rules on second jobs and Commons behaviour
Ministers have made a U-turn on a pledge to limit the time or earnings on MPs’ second jobs, one of several rule changes promised by Boris Johnson last year in order to stop abuse of the system.
The proposed changes were announced after there was a public outcry when the former cabinet minister Owen Paterson was censured for breaching lobbying rules and another, Geoffrey Cox, was found to have been voting by proxy when doing work for law clients in the Caribbean.
Complexity brings errors, which then bring the house into disrepute – contrary to the code’s purpose. Limiting time or limiting income does not improve the honesty and integrity of the system – it just creates more opportunity for errors.
The consequences of even the smallest transgression are public and humiliating, both personally and politically. Therefore, it is absolutely worth getting this right. Sadly, this report and consultation I fear leads us in the opposite direction by creating greater complexity, more rules and increased subjectivity.
It seems to me that the principal concerns here are about potential conflict of interest and neglect of constituents. Arbitrary limits on time spent on, or reward earned from, outside interests do not necessarily mirror either concern.
Time spent as a nurse also has the same impact on time available for constituents as time spent as a hedge fund manager. Again, transparency is the most effective way for constituents to determine whether they find the arrangements of their member of parliament acceptable or not.
… The code should be kept as brief as possible and enable MPs to take responsibility for themselves within broad boundaries.
The baseline assumption as a new MP seems to be that I am on the scrounge and should be treated like a child and punished at the first opportunity. If we were treated like adults we would be far more likely en masse to act like them.
The revised system should not disincentivise people who would be an asset to the Commons from applying in the first place, nor encourage those with experience of their field to leave. Equally, any new rules should not reduce the likelihood of those with professional experience seeking to enter the house.
Setting an arbitrary time limit on paid and unpaid outside interests would involve the commissioner policing an MP’s personal life and free time.
This is not a desirable, nor a practical use of the commissioner’s time, and these matters are almost impossible to police, and could result in vexatious complaints against members.
Frankly, I find the politics and personal behaviour of some politicians abhorrent. As an elected representative I have a right to make my opinions about them known, perhaps even a duty to do so.
That is why I cannot support your determination to police the comments of MPs in any medium: it might be necessary to express contempt for hateful political positions.
The stated intention of this proposal [regarding ‘respect’] is to protect against bullying and harassment in committees and divisions.
Clearly, such behaviour would be wholly unacceptable and guarding against it is an entirely worthy aim. However, this proposal has unintended consequences that damage the workings of the house.
Continue reading...More than 50 ministers under Johnson and May took posts with firms in sectors they covered in government
Half of all ministers who have left office in the Boris Johnson or Theresa May governments later took up posts with companies relevant to their former government jobs, the Guardian has found.
An analysis of those who left departmental ministerial roles up until the most recent reshuffle found more than 50 took up employment as advisers in industries where they had government expertise or as more general political consultants.
Continue reading...More than 90 Tory members do paid work on the side compared with very few Labour politicians, finds analysis
More than a quarter of Tory MPs have second jobs with firms whose activities range from gambling to private healthcare, making more than £4m in extra earnings in a year, Guardian analysis has found.
The register of MPs’ interests shows that more than 90 out of 360 Tories have extra jobs on top of their work in parliament, compared with three from Labour. They are overwhelmingly older and 86% are men. The highest earners were all former cabinet ministers.
Continue reading...Latest updates: prime minister also does not rule out peerage for Paterson; No 10 says PM will not attend debate as he will be on a train then
The Downing Street lobby briefing is over, and the prime minister’s spokesman has confirmed that Boris Johnson will not be speaking in, or attending, the sleaze/standards/corruption debate in the Commons this afternoon.
And he won’t be watching it on the TV in his office afterwards; he is on a visit to a hospital in the north-east. No 10 signalled that he would not be able to be able to return to London in time for the debate because the rail timetable did not allow this.
Continue reading...Watchdog considers tightening restrictions on MPs’ second jobs which could affect 30 parliamentarians
MPs could be banned from having consultancy jobs like Owen Paterson’s under plans for a clampdown on sleaze being considered by the Commons standards committee.
The prospect of tightened restrictions on MPs’ second jobs is to be decided within weeks and could affect more than 30 parliamentarians earning between £180,000 and hundreds of pounds a year on top of their £82,000 salary.
Continue reading...Route to resignation was marked out more than two years ago following a Guardian investigation
The route to Owen Paterson’s resignation on Thursday afternoon was marked out more than two years ago, when in 2019 the Guardian exposed his lobbying on behalf of two companies from whom he has received at least £500,000 in payments.
Documents released following freedom of information requests revealed that the MP had repeatedly demanded access to ministers and regulators on behalf of his paying clients. This raised the question of whether he had broken parliamentary rules that prohibit MPs from undertaking paid advocacy– rules that have existed in various forms since the 17th century.
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