A former British Army leader has been handed a four-month suspension from the House of Lords for violating lobbying regulations. Lord Dannatt, who previously served as Chief of the General Staff between 2006 and 2009, was discovered to have breached rules prohibiting the exchange of parliamentary services for payment or rewards. Undercover journalists, posing as businessmen, captured footage of Lord Dannatt offering to arrange meetings with government officials on behalf of a fictitious property development firm.
After self-referring to the ethics watchdog, additional instances emerged of Lord Dannatt contacting ministers or government employees regarding companies in which he had a financial interest, namely UK Nitrogen, Teledyne UK, and Blue International Holdings. Despite no financial transactions occurring, Lord Dannatt displayed a willingness to engage in activities that could be perceived as paid parliamentary services. The Lords Conduct Committee upheld the independent Commissioner for Standards’ findings and recommendations, resulting in a four-month suspension from the House of Lords.
Acknowledging Lord Dannatt’s expressions of regret and understanding of the potential harm to the House’s reputation, the Conduct Committee emphasized the severity of the case due to four separate breaches of the code. Lord Dannatt issued a statement expressing remorse for tarnishing his personal honor and accepting the imposed sanction as the honorable course of action.
In a separate incident, Lord Evans of Watford was also suspended for five months after being found in violation of lobbying regulations for offering access to ministers. The Labour peer faced allegations of offering “cash for access” to undercover journalists posing as potential clients of a company owned by his son, Affinity. Holding a one-third stake in the company, Lord Evans was cited for failing to uphold personal integrity when indicating his willingness to introduce the journalists to MPs due to his financial interest in Affinity.
Further investigation revealed that Lord Evans organized events at the House of Lords on behalf of the company and recruited peers to speak at these events, breaching House of Lords event regulations by selling tickets above cost price. The events were utilized to boost business for Affinity, and Lord Evans, as the event sponsor, neglected to ensure compliance with the House’s rules.
The suspensions are pending approval by the House of Lords. Both peers opted not to challenge the Commissioner’s findings or the recommended sanctions.