Lord Deben, the scandal-ridden chair of the Climate Change Committee, has once again displayed his flexible standards. Deben’s consultancy company, Sancroft, published an article about “Learning from Qatar” in the context of the controversy around the World Cup. Deben’s firm advises football clubs to reduce their human rights risk and “create positive change on social issues”. It argues clubs should be vigilant in their supply chains to mitigate human rights concerns. However, Sancroft clearly hasn’t taken its own advice. The environmental advisory company takes money from gas-selling Qatari ministers…

This raises another issue of transparency. After revelations of Deben’s history of dubious business links, the Climate Change Committee tightened its declaration protocols. Despite this, Deben has yet to declare his Qatari connection to the committee, as he does on the Lords’ register, only mentioning his role for Sancroft broadly. It’s hardly a model for transparency. Guido wonders why an environmental adviser wouldn’t want to disclose fossil fuel funding…