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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Henry Dyer and Rob Evans

Lords rules and culture make it easy for peers to abuse privileged position

Peers in red and white robes seen from above
Members of the House of Lords take their seats in the Lords chamber before the state opening of parliament on 17 July 2024 Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images

The former head of the British army Richard Dannatt and David Evans, or Lord Evans of Watford, a so-called high-level facilitator, have been found to have broken the House of Lords rules and are facing hefty suspensions as a result.

The punishments follow official inquiries into their conduct, after undercover investigations by the Guardian revealed how the two peers separately offered to make introductions to ministers for a potential commercial client. A parliamentary watchdog ruled that the conduct was lobbying for personal profit, behaviour that breaks the fundamental principle that peers should always act solely for the public good.

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