The Commons standards committee has launched an inquiry into whether MPs who sit on All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) should be barred from receiving payments from organisations in the same industries the groups lobby for. The move follows concerns that APPGs, which are informal cross-party groups, may be exploited as a lobbying loophole.
Several MPs have been identified as holding dual roles. Alun Cairns, Conservative MP for the Vale of Glamorgan, is vice-chair of the APPG on taxis while being paid as a senior adviser to Veezu, a private hire and taxi firm. Laurence Robertson, MP for Tewkesbury, is a former chair and vice-chair of the Betting and Gaming APPG and receives £2,000 a month as parliamentary adviser to the Betting and Gaming Council. Robertson's spokesperson noted he was not an officer of the APPG and held the co-chair role for six months.
Other MPs include Mark Garnier, vice-chair of the APPG for Space and paid chair of the Shetland Space Centre advisory board; Nick Fletcher, vice-chair of the APPG for Electric Vehicles and director of Analogue Electrics Ltd; and Mark Pawsey, chair of the Packaging Manufacturing Industry APPG and paid chair of the Foodservice Packaging Association. Pawsey stated he did not believe there was a conflict of interest but would take appropriate action if one were identified.
Tom Brake, director of Unlock Democracy, has written to committee chair Chris Bryant urging a closure of the loophole. Brake argued that MPs should recuse themselves from APPG activities seeking to influence policy in areas where they are paid advisers, or that the rules should be amended to make such dual roles a breach of lobbying rules. Bryant confirmed the committee would examine the claims, stating that APPGs are important but should not be used for commercial or personal gain.
