AN animal rights organisation has written a formal complaint to the Prime Minister outlining evidence they say proves a Tory minister lied to parliament.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) allege that defence minister Jeremy Quin misled parliament and broke the ministerial code.
In a three-page letter to the outgoing Prime Minister, the charity’s director of corporate projects, Yvonne Taylor, outlines evidence that she suggests shows that the minister made statements in parliament which were “untrue”.
The complaint focuses on a Westminster debate held on the continued use of real bearskin in the fur hats worn by the Queen's Guards. The July 11 debate was held after a petition, set up by singer Alesha Dixon, accrued more than 100,000 signatures.
Speaking in Westminster, Quin made various statements about the bearskin hats. In one example, he told MPs: “I have no idea whether a bearskin cap made of faux fur exists.”
Peta’s Taylor called this claim “preposterous”. She said: “In April 2022, he was invited to a parliamentary reception organised by Peta where a replica cap, made with the ECOPEL faux fur, was presented.
“He received the invitation, which had an image of the cap on it and stated, in bold, that a cap would be displayed at the event: ‘Come and see the prototype of the faux fur Queen’s Guard cap for yourself,’ it said.
“His claim that he was unaware a synthetic cap exists is preposterous.”
In April, SNP MP John Nicolson posted an image on Twitter of himself at the reception to which Quin had been invited. He was holding the faux fur hat prototype.
I was pleased to host a Commons @PETAUK reception to highlight the issue of bearskins in the British army. A bear is killed - often in the most barbaric way - to make every hat. These synthetic alternatives are now available. Time for the @DefenceHQ to stop unjustifiablecruelty. pic.twitter.com/xfz8hkEAAD
— JOHN NICOLSON M.P. (@MrJohnNicolson) April 25, 2022
ECOPEL is a faux fur textile and apparel manufacturer that worked with Peta to develop what the charity says is a “viable faux fur to replace the bearskins used for the Queen’s Guard’s caps”.
Peta says the fabric looks and performs in the same way as real bear fur, “even outperforming it in some areas”.
At the debate in July, Defence Procurement Minister Quin (below) also claimed that he and the UK Government had not seen any evidence the faux fur caps could pass the Ministry of Defence’s “five tests”.
He told MPs: “We need to see the results of the tests, which have not yet been shared with us.”
However, Taylor said in her letter to the Prime Minister that this was “untrue”.
She wrote: “On 10 May, 2022, Peta posted – via Royal Mail recorded delivery – copies of the results of the most recent testing conducted on the faux fur, detailing its performance in drying rate and compression testing, to you, Mr Quin, and other interested parties.
“The report was accompanied by a summary explaining these results and how they, together with earlier test results, prove that the faux fur meets the MoD’s five requirements.”
A survey in May revealed that 75% of the UK considers the bearskin caps a “bad use of Government funds” and 73% would like to see the Prime Minister take action to replace them with faux fur.
The current caps are made with American Black Bear skins sourced from Canada. Quin told Parliament during the July debate that 107 skins had been bought in 2020 and 31 in 2021.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: "At the time of the Commons debate, the Minister was not aware that test results had been shared with the MoD.
“On learning earlier this week that the analysis had been received prior to the debate, the Minister promptly wrote to the Proposer and Chair of the Debate to clarify the point and tell them that he would be correcting the record as soon as Parliament resumes.”
