A committee of MPs has warned that weak rules are allowing former ministers to exploit contacts made while they were in office.
The Public Administration Committee says that ministers such as Thanet South’s Dr Steve Ladyman (Labour), a former transport minister, should be subject to tougher regulations monitored by an independent watchdog.
The MP’s name was dragged into the row last year when he was criticised for appearing to promote the interests of a private firm to the Highways Agency.
Dr Ladyman had been subject to a lobbying ban after leaving his post but was still able to arrange meetings with officials for when it ended.
The report says that Dr Ladyman used his former role “as a way of introducing himself when lobbying” for a traffic information company.
The isle MP insists he did nothing improper and was never found guilty of any wrongdoing, but the committee cited the case in its report published earlier this week.
The committee’s chairman, Tony Wright, said: “Lobbying enhances democracy, but it can also subvert it. Transparency is key here.
“There is a public interest in knowing who is lobbying whom about what.”
POSTED: 06/01/2009 16:48:33
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