Cash for Influence - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Cash for Influence is the name given by some in the media

Media of the United Kingdom

Media of the United Kingdom consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based Web sites. The UK also has a strong music industry. The UK has a diverse range of providers, the most prominent being principle public service...

to a political scandal

Political scandal

A political scandal is a kind of political corruption that is exposed and becomes a scandal, in which politicians or government officials are accused of engaging in various illegal, corrupt, or unethical practices...

in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

in 2009 concerning four Labour Party

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

Life Peers offering to help make amendments to legislation for up to £120,000. The Lords Privileges Committee recommended the two men be suspended from the House

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

for up to six months after an investigation into allegations made against four Labour peers. Lord Taylor of Blackburn

Thomas Taylor, Baron Taylor of Blackburn

Thomas Taylor, Baron Taylor of Blackburn is a former Labour member of the House of Lords. He is notable for being one of the first peers suspended from the House of Lords since the 17th century.-Biography:Thomas Taylor was born in 1926....

was suspended as a Labour Party

Labour Party (UK)

member pending the investigation while Lord Truscott quit the party. On May 20, the House of Lords considered the report of the Privileges Committee and voted to suspend Lord Taylor and Lord Truscott for six months.

The suspensions are the first since Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

’s era in the 1640s. The last individual to be suspended from the House of Lords is believed to have been Thomas Savile

Thomas Savile, 1st Earl of Sussex

Thomas Savile, 1st Earl of Sussex Thomas Savile was born on 14 September 1590, the son of John Savile, 1st Baron Savile of Pomfret and Elizabeth Cary. He was baptised at Doddington-Pigot in the English county of Cheshire....

, who was barred in 1642 for siding with King Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

Allegations

The allegations were made by The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...

Insight team in an article published on Sunday, 25 January 2009. In a series of covert interviews, the four peers stated that they could use their political influence to amend legislation. The individuals concerned are Lord Snape, Lord Moonie, Lord Taylor of Blackburn and Lord Truscott. Six other peers either declined to help or did not respond to the undercover reporters' approach.

The newspaper claimed its reporters approached the four peers masquerading as lobbyists acting for an unnamed company. The firm, they said, wanted to set up a chain of shops in the UK and were seeking exemption from current laws on business rates.
A recording was later released of Lord Taylor saying firms paid him up to £100,000 a year. Lord Taylor tells an undercover reporter: "Some companies that I work with would pay me £100,000 a year." When the reporter questions it, he adds: "That's cheap for what I do for them. And other companies would pay me £25,000."

On January 30, The Sunday Times released further material via their website containing audio and video purporting to show Lord Truscott describing how the passage of legislation in both the House of Commons and House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

could be influenced and what part he could play in successfully facilitating amendments on behalf of paying clients.

Two of the fundamental principles set out in the Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct

A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the responsibilities of or proper practices for an individual, party or organization. Related concepts include ethical codes and honor codes....

for the House of Lords are that members “must never accept any financial inducement as an incentive or reward for exercising parliamentary influence" and "must not vote on any bill or motion, or ask any question in the House or a committee, or promote any matter, in return for payment or any other material benefit (the "no paid advocacy" rule).”

Reaction

Following publication of The Sunday Times article, the Labour Party immediately promised an urgent investigation. The Leader in the House of Lords, Lady Royall

Janet Royall, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon

Janet Anne Royall, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, PC is a British Labour politician. She is the current Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords.-Education and early political career:...

said she had spoken to the four Labour peers concerned and would be "pursuing the matter with utmost vigour". She also said House of Lords members must "abide by its high standards."

In a statement to the House of Lords on 26 January Lady Royall called the claims "deeply shocking". She pointed out that they were only allegations at this stage but said the claims had been "damaging not just to this House but to Parliament and politics". She said the matter had been referred to the Lords Interests sub committee (a sub committee of the Committee for Privileges), which had already met and investigations were underway. She said she believed "tougher sanctions" were needed to deal with peers who broke the rules and she had written to the chairman of the Committee on Standards and Privileges

Committee on Standards and Privileges

The Standards and Privileges Committee of the United Kingdom House of Commons was established in 1995 to replace the earlier Committee of Privileges...

to ask him to review the matter.

On 26 January, two of the four peers made statements in The House of Lords. Lord Snape told The House "As one of the people involved in this incident may I first of all apologise for bringing this House, if I have done so, into disrepute. But may I say that these are allegations in a Sunday newspaper and may I appeal to noble lords in all parts of the House to allow me the opportunity to refute these allegations before your lordships house and elsewhere."

Lord Taylor stated "If I have done anything that has brought this House into disrepute I most humbly apologise. I feel within my own conscience I followed the rules and the directions that have been given in this House over the 31 years I have been a member."

Lord Truscott told the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

he did admit to having had "discussions" with a reporter, but said that "to suggest I would offer to put down amendments for money is a lie."

Lord Moonie acknowledged discussing a fee of £30,000 but said he had not done anything "outside the rules".

The Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

leader in the Lords, Lord Strathclyde, said the allegations represented a "shocking and depressing moment" for the House of Lords. "This House has been mired in a grim torrent of criticism about a culture of sleaze," he told peers. "If these allegations are true those involved have shamed this House," he said, adding there were no "grey areas in the paid advocacy rules".

Prime Minister

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

Gordon Brown

James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...

said: "It's important that we don't pre-judge these investigations but these are serious allegations and we are determined to get to the bottom of these allegations, and whatever action needs to be taken will be taken."

The Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...

wrote to Metropolitan Police commissioner

Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service, classing the holder as a chief police officer...

Sir Paul Stephenson

Paul Stephenson (police officer)

Sir Paul Robert Stephenson, QPM was the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, 2009-2011, the most senior police officer within the United Kingdom....

asking for an investigation to take place.

SNP MP Angus MacNeil

Angus MacNeil

Angus Brendan MacNeil is the Scottish National Party Member of Parliament for Na h-Eileanan an Iar...

, whose complaint started the "cash for honours" called for the four peers to be suspended, while an investigation is carried out.

Findings of House of Lords Committees

The House of Lords Sub-committee on Lords' Interests was asked to report on the matter. It found that:

re. Lord Moonie "on the standard of proof that we have set, we do not find that Lord Moonie expressed a clear willingness to breach the Code by promoting amendments on behalf of lobbyists in return for payment."
re. Lord Snape "We find that Lord Snape expressed a clear willingness to breach the Code of Conduct. The fact that he may have believed that moving a blanket amendment was legitimate does not excuse him because, as we have explained above, moving such an amendment in return for payment would breach the no-paid-advocacy rule."
re. Lord Truscott "We conclude that Lord Truscott expressed willingness to breach the Code of Conduct's prohibition on paid advocacy, and failed to act on his personal honour, as required by paragraphs 4(c) and 4(b) of the Code."
re. Lord Taylor "We conclude that Lord Taylor's conversations with the journalists display his clear willingness to breach the Code of Conduct by engaging in paid advocacy, and by failing to act on his personal honour, as required by paragraphs 4(c) and 4(b) of the Code."

The Lords' Privileges Committee considered the sub-committee's report and heard further evidence from Lord Snape. It published its findings on 14 May 2009

The Privileges Committee:

agreed that Lord Moonie had not breached the code;
disagreed that Lord Snape had breached the code: "We conclude that he did not express clear willingness to exercise parliamentary influence in return for financial inducement, and so fail to act on his personal honour";
agreed that Lord Truscott had breached the code, and recommended that he be suspended;
agreed that Lord Taylor had breached the code, and recommended that he be suspended.

Police investigations

On 29 January 2009 it was confirmed that Police were looking at the allegations following the complaint by the Liberal Democrats.
On 11 February 2009 the Metropolitan Police confirmed that no action would be taken, noting that "The application of the criminal law to members of the House of Lords in the circumstances that have arisen here is far from clear," and that "In addition, there are very clear difficulties in gathering and adducing evidence in these circumstances in the context of parliamentary privilege

Parliamentary privilege

Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made related to one's duties as a legislator. It is common in countries whose constitutions are...

Potential sanctions

If the peers were to be found guilty of having broken the rules, they could be required to apologise on the floor of the Lords. Under existing rules they cannot be expelled from Parliament or stripped of their titles.

Allegations

Reaction

Findings of House of Lords Committees

Police investigations

Potential sanctions

See also