Standards committee chair will face no punishment for breaking code of conduct
The MP who chairs the committee overseeing ethical standards in the House of Commons broke the code of conduct he enforces, an inquiry has found. An investigation into Labour’s Sir Kevin Barron by the Committee on Standards found he was in breach of the rules by accepting payment for the use of facilities in the Commons.
Sir Kevin sponsored events in Parliament on behalf of the Japanese Pharmaceutical Group (JPG), including dinners and breakfast meetings. Though the investigation found that MP did not accept any payment himself he had asked for money to be directed to a charity of his choice – which still breaches rules. The MP will not face any sanction or punishment, because the committee said the breach was minor and inadvertent.
House of Commons rules say MPs should not use Commons resources to “confer any undue personal or financial benefit on themselves or anyone else”. The report by the committee follows a separate investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Hudson.
The committee’s report said: “We would not wish to lose sight of the fact that this is a minor matter and we agree with the Commissioner’s finding that it was an inadvertent error. The evidence shows that Kevin Barron fully complied with the rules and practices of the House of Commons at that time on, and was fully transparent in, registering and declaring this interest.” The report added that Sir Kevin had cooperated fully with Ms Hudson’s investigation and the committee agreed with her conclusion that the inquiry raised no doubts over his integrity and honesty. The committee concluded: “We consider that no further action is required.”
Sir Kevin said: “The report published today has found no serious breaches as I always maintained. The inquiry has found a ‘minor’ and ‘inadvertent’ breach of a banqueting rule. I felt that I had taken all the steps I could to check the rules, but acknowledge my mistake.” He said that he made no personal financial gain from the arrangement and affirmed that JPG made a donation to a children’s hospice in his constituency in return for using facilities in Parliament.
“I would like to thank Kathryn Hudson, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, for her very thorough investigation into this matter and the Committee on Standards for their judgment,” he said. “I will be resuming my duties as chair of the Committee on Standards and the Committee of Privileges. It has always been a huge honour to chair these committees and I am delighted to return to this role.”