The line that editors walk between legitimate investigation and entrapment can sometimes be a fine oneDuring the Leveson inquiry there were many references to journalistic “dark arts”. Much less attention was paid, however, to the much more common prob…
Labour peers stripped of whip over lobbying row
Suspension of Lords Cunningham and Mackenzie from party comes after resignation of UUP’s Lord LairdThree peers have stood down from their parliamentary parties pending inquiries into allegations they broke rules by offering to carry out parliamentary w…
Lord Laird resigns Ulster Unionist whip after lobbying scandal
Peer was among subjects of sting by undercover reporters, who offered cash incentives to ask questions in House of LordsAn Ulster Unionist peer has resigned the party’s whip pending an inquiry into allegations he broke rules by offering to carry out pa…
Lobbying: should MPs be banned from taking outside earnings? | Poll
One MP has resigned his party’s whip and others are being drawn into a lobbying scandal following attempts by journalists to get them to accept cash for parliamentary activities. Could the problem be solved by banning all outside earnings? &…
Lobbying row deepens as Lord Laird denies breach of rules
Ulster Unionist peer vigorously denies sleaze claims amid undercover sting that also targeted two Labour peersA peer denied breaching parliamentary rules as the Westminster lobbying controversy extended to the House of Lords.Ulster Unionist Lord Laird …
Too many MPs are wrapped in the tentacles of the lobbyists | Andrew Rawnsley
The Patrick Mercer affair is just one small symptom of a much bigger and insidious subversion of democracyWhenever another one of them is caught, there is a temptation to sigh: will they never learn? Two decades have passed since the original cash-for-…
Patrick Mercer: the scandal that was waiting to happen | Editorial
Mr Mercer’s reported and alleged willingness to lobby for undemocratic but sunny Fiji had a couldn’t-make-it-up qualityBobbing between the moats and the duck islands of the 2009 expenses crisis were a few wiser heads, who grasped that the real threat t…