Former Commons sleaze watchdog chief under fire for hosting lobbying event for group run by his wife
2 min read
The former head of the Commons sleaze watchdog has come under fire after it was revealed he hosted a lobbying event for a group run by his wife.
Sir Kevin Barron, who stepped down as chairman of the Standards Committee earlier this year, failed to declare an interest when he sponsored a breakfast event in Parliament for the YMCA Awards, which were run by his wife, Lady Andrée Deane-Barron.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, the Rother Valley MP only updated the register of interests to highlight his wife’s involvement months after the event, and after he had stepped down from his committee role.
Under strict Commons rules, MPs are expected to register the details of any family members working in the lobbying industry, but during his tenure as chairman of the group, Sir Kevin also failed to note his wife’s activities conducing “advocacy strategy” for the YMCA awards.
Lady Deane-Barron defended the event, saying the breakfast was organised to welcome the group’s work around “apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships… That’s not lobbying.”
But a statement on the YMCA website - which promotes the work of its members interested in skills policy - stated the group’s launch would build on its “enormous successes lobbying policy makers”.
It added: “We launched the Vanguard Group at a working breakfast in Parliament attended by 19 of YMCA Awards partners and seven influential parliamentarians with interests in the sector, including the newly appointed Apprentice Ambassador, Stephen Metcalfe MP.”
Sir Alistair Graham, the former chair of the Committee on Standards on Public Life, said that members should be “whiter than white”.
Sir Kevin was previously found to have committed a “minor” and “inadvertent” breach of rules after he signed a contract in 2016 in which he agreed to host events in Parliament. He donated the fees to charity.
A spokesman for Sir Kevin said: “A admin error regarding the booking form was noticed when the events record was published and immediate attempts were made to rectify the situation.
“No rules in the Code of Conduct have been broken.”
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