Matt Hancock broke rules by writing to standards watchdog to defend colleague under investigation

Former health secretary Matt Hancock has apologised to Parliament for breaching the MPs’ code of conduct by attempting to influence the Commons standards tsar.

Hancock wrote to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Daniel Greenberg, to defend another senior Conservative who was under investigation for an alleged breach of lobbying rules.

A number of MPs are currently under investigation by the standards commissioner for matters ranging from alleged improper use of stationery to failing to properly declare outside interests and damaging the reputation of parliament.

Hancock did not pay ‘attention to the rules’

Hancock committed the “minor breach” by writing an unsolicited letter to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards in defence of Steve Brine. The matter was then referred by the commissioner to the Commons Committee on Standards, which is made up of MPs and lay members.

The Committee found Hancock did not set out to breach the rules, had no prospect of personal gain and did not act with malice by writing to the commissioner. But it said the former Cabinet minister had displayed a “lack of attention to the rules” and “it is concerning that a member with this experience has not taken account of these provisions of the code”.

At the time of Hancock’s letter in March, Health and Social Care Committee chairman Brine was under investigation over claims he lobbied the head of the NHS on behalf of a firm for which he was working as a paid consultant.

The details that led to that probe were revealed in the tranche of leaked WhatsApp messages from Hancock published by the Daily Telegraph. In his letter to the commissioner, Hancock said: “I want to make it clear to you that it is my firm belief that what Mr Brine did was acting overwhelmingly in the national interest.”

He said Brine “did nothing improper and should be cleared from any accusation given his actions were in line with his duties as a Member of Parliament and British citizen to help our country in its time of need”.

In May, the commissioner concluded that Brine had not properly declared his work for Remedium Partners while contacting Hancock and Michael Gove but cleared him of seeking a financial benefit for the firm, which was offering anaesthetists to the NHS free of charge.

The case was dealt with under the rectification procedure, with Brine accepting the decision and apologising for the breaches. In a memorandum on Hancock’s case, the commissioner said: “The impression I have gained from my inquiry is that Mr Hancock has not applied his mind to the important distinction between evidence and opinion”.

“Nor has he carefully considered how his opinion about the correct outcome for my inquiry into Mr Brine might put him on the wrong side of the rules laid down by the House.”

Hancock gave a short personal statement in the Commons on Monday afternoon (5 June), saying he was “happy” to apologise.

MPs under investigation

There are currently seven MPs under investigation by the standards commissioner over potential breaches of the code of conduct. The commissioner’s office only publishes a brief description of the rule which each MP is accused of breaking.

Rishi Sunak is under investigation over the declaration of an interest and the “disclosure of details in relation to an investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards,” while two more Conservative MPs face a probe relating to the activities of All Party Parliamentary Groups.

Marcus Fysh and Sir Roger Gale are currently under investigation separately in relation to “rules on income and expenditure statements and publication of mandatory information,” while the commissioner is also considering whether Fysh breached rules on the “disclosure of details in relation to an investigation”.

An investigation into former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier concluded recently, after it was referred to the standards committee which recommended that she be suspended from Parliament for 30 days. This means she may face a by-election, after her appeal against the recommendation was denied last month.

Ferrier was found to have damaged the reputation of the Commons and put people at risk after taking part in a debate and travelling by train while suffering from Covid-19.