Ministerial Code

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay Excerpts

Wednesday 26th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, in the foreword to the latest version of the Ministerial Code, the Prime Minister says:

“Restoring trust in politics is the great test of our era”,


but despite agreeing with his Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards that he would play no role in football matters, he was sent, and responded to, a submission appointing as chairman of the new football regulator David Kogan, a man who had made political donations not just to his Labour leadership campaign but to his general election campaign last summer. In the interests of restoring trust in politics, can the Minister tell us: how much did these donations amount to?

[Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent) (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his question. Given the fact that this was discussed previously both in your Lordships’ House and in the other place, he will be very aware that all donations were declared in line with the threshold, and the thresholds are publicly available. Let us be very clear that Mr Kogan was approached by the previous Government about this position, because they recognised the skills that he had—and we recognised the skills that he had. He has cross-party support and industry support, and we wish him well in his work.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

I completely agree with the noble Lord. That is why we have given more power and authority to the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards, who can now undertake their own investigations without being instructed to by the Prime Minister. It is also why we have asked the Ethics and Integrity Commission to adopt a risk-based approach, so that it can focus on those cases that present a genuine risk to the integrity of government. There is collective responsibility to make sure that people trust us—politicians and the Government. We have a huge amount to deliver collectively, and people need to know that we are on their side, regardless of which party we represent.

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, criticism of the Government’s breaches of the Ministerial Code do not just come from His Majesty’s Opposition. Paragraph 9.1 of the Ministerial Code sets out that

“the most important announcements of government policy should be made in the first instance in Parliament”.

This morning, the Speaker of the House of Commons criticised the Government for their increasing habit of making these announcements outside Parliament. He said to his local BBC radio station that, in the past,

“if you leaked a Budget you would be asked to resign”.

Does the Minister agree with the Speaker of another place?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

My Lords, I have known the Speaker of another place since I was born. While I always appreciate the words of Mr Speaker, in this instance I remind noble Lords, from across all political parties, that there is always noise and speculation ahead of the Budget. Mr Speaker has asked the Public Accounts Committee to undertake a review of the Ministerial Code in terms of when business should and should not be addressed first in your Lordships’ House. The noble Lord is absolutely right about paragraph 9.1, and the Prime Minister too has been clear that significant announcements should always be made in Parliament.

Chinese Espionage: Parliament

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay Excerpts

Monday 13th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

Just for the noble Lord, I will read from my pack: “The Government knows that China poses a series of threats to UK national security. We have seen Chinese espionage and cyberattacks on our soil and transnational repression of Hong Kongers”. Based on that, I think I can say yes.

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, have His Majesty’s Government had any discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service about the wording of the Official Secrets Acts, in light of the collapse of this case? Is it the Government’s understanding that the wording of the Acts was a factor in the collapse of that case?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

The noble Lord raises an important point, which I hope will be discussed this afternoon in the other place, so we can have a conversation about it later this week.