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A “strategic advisor” to the lobbying firm Crosby Textor is among 324 former MPs who together used grace passes and favors to gain access to the Houses of Parliament more than 2,500 times in a single year.
Data released after a major freedom of information victory by The Guardian reveals how often individual former MPs have been using their “category X” parliamentary pass, which grants the bearer continuous access to the corridors of power after of his resignation, along with the restaurants subsidized by parliament. and bars.
MPs serving a single parliamentary term are automatically eligible to apply for a pass, but critics argue that the system is open to abuse.
The Commons authorities tried to prevent the information from being released, claiming it would infringe upon the personal data rights of former members. However, the information commissioner ruled in favor of The Guardian, finding that public interest in the material was so strong that it should override data protection safeguards.
The data revealed that Stewart Jackson, the Conservative MP from Peterborough from 2005 to 2017, used his pass of grace and favor 82 times in the year from July 2018 to June 2019, nearly one out of every two days that parliament was held. sat in that period.
According to his LinkedIn profile, he has served as a lobbyist since August 2018, first for Crosby Textor as a “strategic advisor” and then for his own team, Political Insight, in addition to being a columnist for The Telegraph. Jackson did not respond to attempts to contact him.
The most prolific returnee was Nick de Bois, the Conservative MP for Enfield North from 2010 to 2015, who visited him 84 times. He said he served as Dominic Raab’s chief of staff and then volunteered for his campaign to lead the Conservative Party during the year in question. He was also a radio host during the same period.
Phil Woolas, the Deputy Leader of the Commons at the time the passes were introduced and later a Labor Minister, said the reasons for introducing the scheme were purely social.
“If you’ve worked somewhere for 40 years, and you get your gold watch and they throw it out, it’s really nice to be able to meet your old colleagues. It was as simple as that, ”he said. “It was just a reason for the ex-MPs to get together and have dinner.”
Woolas, who used his pass once, was removed as an MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth in 2010 after an electoral court found that his campaign had made false accusations that his Liberal Democratic opponent was linked to Islamist extremism.
He currently works for the consulting firm UK Partnerships. She said that she had not owned a Category X pass for several years and was not using it in connection with business purposes.
Ivor Caplin, the Labor MP from Hove from 1997 to 2005, who now runs the Ivor Caplin Consultancy, used his grace and favor 48 times.
A profile on the website of a volunteer charity where Caplin serves as a trustee describes how his consulting work “has continued to put him in regular contact with politicians and officials” in the UK and abroad.
However, Caplin said he did not use the pass for his private work, visiting in his capacity as a national spokesperson and later chairman of the Jewish Labor Movement.
“Given the crisis of anti-Semitism in the party at the time, I made numerous visits to the house to discuss this with MPs, colleagues and others, including journalists,” he said. “I do not and have not used the house for my business.”
Stephen Dorrell, John Major’s health secretary and now president of the Dorson Group and LaingBuisson companies, visited him 29 times. However, he also denied using his pass for any company business and said in an email that his visits were related to his work with the European Movement campaign group.
“I attended numerous meetings called by parliamentarians from all parties that opposed Brexit and were eager to link me with the grassroots activity of the European Movement,” he wrote. “I also attended occasional meetings in parliament in that period in connection with my role as president of the NHS Confederation and, in a social capacity, to visit former colleagues who remain friends,” he added.
The Guardian first wrote to the House of Commons requesting information about the use of grace and favor passes in August of last year. Citing data protection, Commons published a list of the number of times each pass had been used in a single year, but declined to link each number to an appointed former MP.
Following a complaint from The Guardian, the Information Commissioner’s Office, which regulates freedom of information and data protection rules, ordered the information to be disclosed and warned that the current system of parliamentary authorities was so deregulated that it was vulnerable to misuse.
The ruling noted that while ministers, parliamentarians, peers, political journalists and parliamentary assistants must make their identities and financial interests transparent, former parliamentarians with passes of grace and favor are not.
“Given that the evidence suggests that several of the pass holders are employees of public relations or lobbying firms, there is a legitimate concern about how such passes are used,” it reads. “While the commissioner is not aware of any evidence to suggest widespread misuse of passes, she does believe that the current system is vulnerable to abuse.”
Rachel Davies Teka, head of advocacy for Transparency International UK’s anti-corruption campaign, said passes of grace and favor threaten the integrity of parliament and should be banned.
“Close access to legislators is highly valued by those seeking to influence public policy. Using a parliamentary security pass in the course of a paid lobbying activity is an abuse of that privilege, ”he said. “We cannot see any justification for this right that justifies accepting this risk.”
A Commons spokesperson said: “It has been a practice for some time to provide Westminster Palace security identity passes to former MPs,” adding that former MPs were prohibited from using their passes to exert pressure.
Additional reporting by Katherine Purvis and Felix Irmer
