Committee publishes report on conduct of Lord Blencathra
17 July 2014
The House of Lords Privileges and Conduct Committee published a report on the conduct of Lord Blencathra on Monday 14 July.
The report includes preceding reports from the independent Lords Commissioner for Standards and the Sub-Committee on Lords’ Conduct.
The report of the Commissioner for Standards found that Lord Blencathra breached the Code of Conduct by signing a contract that would involve providing parliamentary services to the government of the Cayman Islands.
The Commissioner found that the fact that Lord Blencathra entered into such a contract put him in breach of the Code. The Commissioner acknowledged that there was no evidence that Lord Blencathra actually provided parliamentary services to the Cayman Islands government.
The report of the Sub-Committee on Lords’ Conduct recommends that the appropriate sanction for the breach is for Lord Blencathra to make a personal statement of apology to the House in terms which have been proposed by Lord Blencathra and approved by the chairman of the sub-committee.
The report was considered by the House on Thursday 17 July. Lord Blencathra’s apology to the House followed that consideration.