UK Conservative peer hired as tax haven lobbyist

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has yet another good story:

A former Conservative minister with close links to the Government is simultaneously sitting as a peer in the House of Lords and lobbying on behalf of a Caribbean tax haven.

Lord Blencathra, a former MP and Tory Chief Whip, is being paid by the Cayman Islands’ government to represent the interests of its financial services industry – despite also being able to vote on legislation affecting the territory.

Inquiries by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Independent have established that Lord Blencathra has lobbied on behalf of the Caymans while claiming thousands of pounds in House of Lords attendance allowances.

The whole article is well worth reading, and includes a reply from Lord Blencathra. The Bureau accompanies it with two further articles:

• Analysis: Lawmakers should not be lobbyists
• Standards Commissioner to rule on Cayman lobbyist
• Lord Blencathra – in his own words