The Lords Commissioner Standards has completed an investigation into Lord Alli’s potential breaches of conduct. It concludes there are four breaches:

“Finally, while I consider each individual breach of the Code to be minor, I have found there to be four breaches in total, and have therefore recommended that Lord Alli write a letter of apology to the Chair of the Conduct Committee, Baroness Manningham-Buller.”

Lord Alli’s apology:

“I am writing to you today to offer my apology for my breach of conduct by not registering my interests correctly. I will endeavour to keep to the Code of Conduct at all times to avoid such circumstances again.”

The breaches are explained:

• “Lord Alli should have included in his entry on the Register of Lords’ Interests his position as an unremunerated director of The Charlie Parsons Foundation, as well as his trusteeship. By not doing so he was in breach of paragraphs 14(a) and 17 of the Code of Conduct.”
• “I find that Lord Alli’s late registration of his interest as an unremunerated director of MAC (BVI) Limited breached paragraph 17 of the Code of Conduct.”
• “I find that Lord Alli should have maintained his entry in category 3 of the Register of Lords’ Interests as he remains on the Companies House register as a Person with Significant Control of Silvergate BP Bidco Limited.”
• “Similarly, I find that he should have maintained his registration in category 4(a) of his shareholding amounting to a controlling interest. By removing these register entries prematurely Lord Alli breached paragraphs 14(a) and 17 of the Code of Conduct.”

Read the full report below:

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Tory MP Miriam Cates, co-chair of the New Conservatives, was placed under investigation by the Commons Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg on the 14^th December. This happens when there are claims an MP brought “significant damage to the reputation of the House as a whole, or of its members generally“. There are no more details currently…

Rishi Sunak has been reported to the Standards Committee for breaching rule 13 of the members’ Code of Conduct. According to the Standards Commissioner, the Prime Minister’s indiscretion was that he “gave a statement to media outlets which contained details of the ongoing investigation”. That initial investigation – which was rectified after Rishi apologised for breaching rules over the declaration of interests – was extended after Sunak shared confidential information to the media. After concluding a breach of rule 13, albeit minor, the Standards Commissioner had no choice other than to refer the matter to the Standards Committee. They concluded:

“This was a minor and inadvertent breach of the Code. Mr Sunak’s staff should not have issued any statement about the details of the case under investigation, without the approval of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. The Commissioner has made clear that it had no impact on his inquiry. Nevertheless, it constitutes a breach that should not have occurred. However, Mr Sunak acknowledges that with hindsight he would have followed a different course of action. We would remind the Prime Minister, and all Ministers, like all other MPs, that it is their responsibility, as individuals, to ensure that such breaches do not occur.”

Case closed.

Read the report in full below:

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Not content with clearing the Corbynites out of selection proceedings, Sir Keir is now looking to purge scandal-ridden MPs from his party’s ranks. According to The Times, up to a dozen MPs could be in the firing line as the party looks to clean up its image for government. A party spokesman said “Keir’s changed Labour Party” will deliver the “highest standards” of representatives, with another source saying they would “clear the field” based on “behavioural, reputational issues” – rather than factional or political ones. Amongst the offenders named were Liam “no money” Byrne, catfish Khalid and re-instated bully Neil Coyle.

Other names on the agenda could be those previously suspended, pending investigation, including: Bambos Charalambous, Geraint Davies, Diane Abbott, Conor McGinn, Christina Rees and Nick Brown; whilst some have already been barred from standing again – Jeremy Corbyn and Claudia Webbe will be well known to co-conspirators. Guido is happy to lend Labour HQ a hand by reminding them of more “behavioural and reputational issues” still outstanding in their party ranks:

• Rupa Huq recently had the whip restored after referring to Kwasi Kwarteng as “superficially black”. This is despite Labour’s “zero tolerance” policy and Starmer’s admission the comments were “racist”…
• Kim Johnson was forced to apologise for “disturbing language” after calling Israel a “fascist” state.
• Clive “Get on your knees, b*tch” Lewis has a history of inflammatory remarks and behaviour.
• Wes Streeting publicly apologised after a series of tweets referring to women as “b*tches”, “cows” and “tarts” resurfaced.
• Karl Turner admitted to sharing a fake image of Rishi Sunak on social media, he’s also been accused of using abusive language and sexual harassment.
• Shadow Minister for Mental Health, Rosena Allin-Khan has faced multiple allegations of bullying.

This is ignoring Starmer’s own acid-tripping admissions, Angela Rayner’s affinity for apple products and Rachel Reeves’ register of interests rule breaking. Guido could go on…

Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg has slapped the PM on the wrist for “inadvertently” failing to declare his wife’s financial interests in childcare company Koru Kids, which stands to benefit from government support announced in Jeremy Hunt’s budget. According to Greenberg, Rishi was simply “confused” by the process, noting that while Sunak did not declare his wife’s shareholdings on his parliamentary register of MP interests, he did mention it on the separate register of ministerial interests. Easy mistake to make…

This might explain why Sunak first insisted any suggestion of impropriety was “incorrect” when Greenberg’s probe was announced… only to then row back and admit he “now understand[s]” and apologise “for these inadvertent errors.” Greenberg says he’s drawing a line under it:

“I formed the view that the failure to declare arose out of this confusion and was accordingly inadvertent on the part of Mr Sunak.”

This morning Downing Street said Rishi “takes seriously his responsibilities to register and declare all relevant interests.” When he understands them, at least…

Marcus Fysh has apologised to the Commons Commissioner for Standards for failing to complete the income and expenditure statements for the APPG for education. Fysh also failed to publish mandatory information on the APPG’s website. Sounds fishy…

The matter has not been referred to the Standards Committee, who have bigger fish to fry, after Marcus accepted the decision, apologised and agreed to meet the registrar of interests to ensure all requisite information for the APPG was provided. The Standards Commissioner said:

“My investigation found that Mr Fysh had breached the Rules for APPGs by failing to provide income and expenditure statements for the years 2019 and 2020; and failing to include mandatory information on the Group’s website. I consider these breaches to be inadvertent and that they arose from an inattention to the Rules for 15 APPGs.”

Fysh’s off the hook.

Co-conspirators can read the Commissioner for Standards’s full report below:

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