I’m A Celebrity …! MP Matt Hancock has been told to apologise to Parliament for breaching the Commons Code of Conduct.
The former Health Secretary, 44, was found to have broken the rules by sending a letter to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Daniel Greenberg, who was carrying out an investigation into another Tory MP.
Mr Hancock, who is quitting as MP for West Suffolk at the next election, told the watchdog it was “my firm belief” the backbencher in the original probe “did nothing improper and should be cleared from any accusation”.
Mr Hancock did not ask the Commissioner before sending the letter whether the move “would be appropriate, nor check the terms of the inquiry” into the MP “and whether this letter would assist that inquiry”, the Standards Committee said.
Paragraph 14 of the Code warns MPs they “must not lobby … the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, or their staff, in a manner calculated or intended to influence their consideration of whether a breach of the Code of Conduct has occurred, or in relation to the imposition of a sanction”.
The Commissioner ruled Mr Hancock “sought to influence his consideration of whether a breach of the Code” had been committed - and the Standards Committee agreed.
Mr Greenberg said “the lobbying in his letter was likely due to inattention and carelessness rather than a deliberate attempt to subvert the Commissioner’s inquiry”.
MPs said the breach was minor and recommended Mr Hancock apologise to MPs.
It added: “This case underlines that respect for the Code and the processes for investigating potential breaches of the Code, which were voted for by the House, is an important and necessary part of the Code, and that it expects Mr Hancock to reflect his understanding of this in his apology.”
Mr Hancock told the Committee in written evidence: “While I do not agree that the letter I write [sic] was a breach of these new rules, I do accept that the Commission [sic] has found any breach to be minor and inadvertent.”
The Committee found he paid “a lack of attention to the rules”, adding: “Mr Hancock is a former Cabinet Minister and has been an MP for over 10 years.
“It is concerning that a Member with this experience has not taken account of these provisions of the Code.”
As well as apologising to the Commons, the Committee urged him to attend “a briefing on his obligations under the Code with the Commissioner”.
Following the recommendation to apologise, Mr Hancock told the Commons: "In March, I wrote to the Standards Commissioner to give context to an investigation he was leading about actions taken in response to a Government call-to-arms during the pandemic.
"The Commissioner found that in doing so, I inadvertently committed a minor breach of the House rule that forbids members from lobbying the Commissioner or members of the committee over an investigation.
"The Committee On Standards found that I did not seek to break the rules, had no prospect of personal gain and acted without malice.
"However, they recommended that I apologise to the House and the Commissioner for this minor breach and underline that respect for the Code and the processes of investigating potential breaches of the Code is an important and necessary part of the Code.
"I'm happy to do so."
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