Lords watchdog investigates Richard Dannatt after Guardian revelations

The House of Lords watchdog has started an official investigation into revelations that a peer offered to secure meetings with ministers for a potential commercial client who wanted to lobby the government.The investigation into Richard Dannatt, a former head of the British army, was announced on Friday.He is the second peer now facing a conduct inquiry after revelations in the Lords debate, a months-long investigation by the Guardian into the commercial interests of members of parliament’s second chamber.Lord Dannatt was secretly filmed telling undercover reporters he could make introductions within the government and that he would “make a point of getting to know” the best-placed minister, in spite of rules prohibiting peers from lobbying.He added he could easily “rub shoulders” with the right people in the Lords if he needed to approach a minister in order to promote the potential client

‘Polygamous working’ civil servant held multiple jobs, UK investigation finds

A civil servant held multiple full-time jobs at different government departments at the same time, according to a Cabinet Office investigation.A report by the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) – a data-matching exercise carried out every two years by the Cabinet Office that helps prevent and detect fraud – made the discovery in 2022-23 when looking at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).According to an NFI report published on Wednesday, the exercise identified a Defra employee who had been paid by both Defra and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) for full-time roles.“Following an investigation, it was found out that this person held three roles in three government departments during two separate timeframes,” the report said. “This individual also held two different vetting clearances concurrently with different departments, unbeknown to the vetting team or departments

MPs’ watchdog urged to investigate free support Trump official gave Farage

The MPs’ standards watchdog has been asked to investigate whether Nigel Farage should have declared regular free support given to him by a US PR adviser who is now a Donald Trump official.US filings show that Capital HQ, run by Alexandra Preate, helped Farage on more than 100 days in 2024 with organising speaking engagements, media appearances, political activities and travel in the US.Preate and Capital HQ’s advice to Farage ended in February when she became an adviser to the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent. She is also a former press spokesperson for the former Trump strategist Steve Bannon.The Good Law Project, a campaign group, wrote to the Commons standards commissioner this week asking why the support was not registered with parliament as a benefit on Farage’s register of interests

Jonathan Powell: the veteran negotiator being lauded over US-Ukraine detente

In the topsy-turvy world in which Keir Starmer and his aides operate, the US putting the onus on Russia to agree to a truce with Ukraine marked a significant victory.The proposed 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine is the culmination of two weeks of high-wire negotiations involving Ukraine, the US, UK, France and Germany.Within hours of the plan becoming public on Tuesday, UK sources let it be known that among its architects was Jonathan Powell, a veteran of the New Labour years who has emerged as one of the most important figures in shaping British foreign policy under Starmer.Powell was in Ukraine over the weekend thrashing out the terms of the proposal in writing with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, before Ukraine and the US entered crunch negotiations in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to get it over the line.The Guardian has been told that Powell has been pivotal in steering the UK response to the fallout between Donald Trump and Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on 28 February

Labour’s cautionary tale: how hereditary peers clung on for 26 years

The only solid measure that Keir Starmer’s government has introduced to change the House of Lords is on its way to becoming law, but not without last-ditch resistance.Labour’s manifesto promise to remove members of the House of Lords who vote in parliament’s second chamber by birthright was the most straightforward change. The limited measure, an overdue completion of the removal of hereditary peers that began 26 years ago, is a further illustration of the constitutional difficulties of reforming parliament’s second chamber.Conservative peers have determinedly delayed the bill, talking up the merits of hereditary peers’ contributions to lawmaking, and putting down dozens of amendments, with alternative proposals, which have gummed up the Lords with two days of debate this week.Nick Thomas-Symonds, the minister for the constitution, described the removal of the hereditary peers as “a landmark reform” when introducing the legislation in September

Release of technology secretary’s use of ChatGPT will have Whitehall sweating

When Tony Blair looked back on his time in power, he had a simple assessment of his decision to introduce the Freedom of Information Act: “You idiot.”While the technology secretary, Peter Kyle, is a fan of the former prime minister, he may be inclined to agree with that verdict after the act was used to reveal that he had been asking ChatGPT which podcasts he should appear on. The disclosure has already caused frustration among ministers, given its possible repercussions.Blair’s gripe was that the act risked stopping the frank discussions needed among ministers and officials. Ever since, it has become notoriously difficult to have a freedom of information (FoI) request granted, as officials exploit various legal exemptions to refuse them