Two long-serving peers have been suspended from the House of Lords after a parliamentary watchdog ruled they broke lobbying rules. Lord Dannatt, a former head of the British army, will be suspended for four months, while Lord Evans of Watford will be suspended for five months. The sanctions follow undercover footage recorded by the Guardian.
Lord Dannatt was secretly filmed offering to secure meetings with ministers for a potential commercial client. The Guardian later uncovered three additional cases where he provided parliamentary services for payment, including lobbying ministers for financial support for a fertiliser factory, writing to Home Office ministers on behalf of a defence company, and arranging a meeting with a UK diplomat to lobby on behalf of a goldmine company in which he held shares.
Lord Evans, a Labour peer, was caught on camera offering to introduce undercover reporters posing as property developers to fellow parliamentarians. The watchdog found four separate breaches of the rules, stating his actions "could erode public trust in parliamentarians." He has had the Labour whip removed.
Both peers initially denied breaking the rules but later accepted the sanctions. Lord Dannatt expressed regret, saying he acted in the national interest but acknowledged that "is not an excuse or justification for breaching the code of conduct." Lord Evans's case remains under separate investigation.
