Two members of the Home of Lords are set to be suspended over a money for entry scandal following conferences with undercover journalists.
Former British Military chief Lord Dannatt and Lord Evans of Watford had been discovered to have damaged the foundations on offering parliamentary companies in return for “payment or reward” in separate instances.
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Lord Evans can be suspended from the Lords for 5 months, and Lord Dannatt for 4 months, after the Lords Conduct Committee upheld the findings and suggestions of the impartial Commissioner for Requirements.
Their suspensions, which neither peer appealed, will come into drive as soon as agreed by the Home of Commons.
Crossbench peer Lord Dannatt was discovered to have confirmed a “clear willingness to undertake activity that would have amounted to paid parliamentary services” throughout his conversations with the Guardian undercover journalists, however no cash was exchanged.
Nevertheless, it later emerged he offered parliamentary companies in return for cost in three different instances.
He corresponded with ministers and officers on behalf of firms wherein he had a monetary curiosity, and, in two instances, attended a gathering with a minister or senior official.
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The conduct committee mentioned it gave “due weight to Lord Dannatt’s expressions of remorse and recognition of the potential damage such cases cause to the reputation of the House”.
Nevertheless it added: “The key aggravating factor in the case was the fact that there were four separate findings of breaches of the code. The sheer number of Lord Dannatt’s improper interactions with ministers or officials, and their duration over a period of two years, justify a significant sanction.”
Labour peer Lord Evans, a writer and entrepreneur, was accused of providing “cash for access” throughout conferences with undercover Guardian journalists posing as potential shoppers of Affinity, an organization owned by his son, and which the peer holds a 3rd of the shares.
The commissioner mentioned Lord Evans did not act on his private honour when he advised the undercover reporters he can be keen to introduce them to MPs, given his monetary curiosity in Affinity.
Lord Evans additionally sponsored occasions on the Home of Lords on behalf of the corporate and approached fellow friends to talk at these occasions, so offered parliamentary companies to the corporate he had a monetary incentive in.
It was additionally concluded Lord Evans broke Home of Lords occasions guidelines as tickets for the occasions had been marketed at above price value.
The occasions had been used to advertise and drum up enterprise for Affinity – and Lord Evans, as sponsor of the occasions, “failed to satisfy himself that the events complied with the house’s rules”, the commissioner mentioned.
Lord Dannatt mentioned the Registrar of Marketing consultant Lobbyists additionally investigated the “two UK-based matters”, and concluded he had not carried out guide lobbying.
Picture:
Lord Dannatt, pictured in April 2025, is ready to be suspended from the Home of Lords for 4 months. File pic: PA
In an announcement, he mentioned: “I deeply regret the commissioner’s findings regarding my personal honour, and I decided that the honourable course of action was not to waste the conduct committee’s time by appealing against the findings but to accept the appropriate sanction.
“I settle for additional that ignorance of all facets of the code of conduct doesn’t represent a defence and that registration of my pursuits with the Registrar of Lords’ Pursuits, and my declaration of my related pursuits in correspondence and at conferences, as occurred in all three issues, was inadequate.
“I also understand that acting in the national interest in good faith, which was my motivation in the three matters, is not an excuse or justification for breaching the Code of Conduct.
“At almost 75, nobody is simply too previous to be taught classes, and I hope that these actions can be positioned within the context of my 56-years public service.”
