Peers have handed out 25% fewer Parliamentary passes since a crackdown on lobbyists gaining access to the Houses of Parliament.
Last April the Mirror revealed some 566 passes had been sponsored by peers - which has dropped to just 419 this year, according to official records.
Peers are allowed to give security passes to drivers, carers and staff who support their work - and can decide for themselves who to dole them out to.
But the rules, which were tightened up last year, state they must only be used to provide “must use their Parliamentary pass only to provide Parliamentary support to the sponsor and other members of the House, and not in furtherance of any other interests of their own or of other organisations for which they work.“
The Mirror revealed last year that dozens of paid lobbyists were free to roam the corridors of power using passes sponsored by peers.
And even under the new rules, the Sunday Mirror’s analysis found at least six passholders who declared paid outside work as public affairs, strategy or lobbying jobs.
And as many as 52 - more than 10 per cent of the total passes - said they held paid positions with special interest groups or think-tanks.
They include senior figures in Westminster’s influence industry.
Alan Mendoza, who is chair of the Henry Jackson Society - a foreign policy and national security think-tank - holds a pass sponsored by Tory peer Baroness Eaton.
Thomas Jones, whose pass is sponsored by Labour peer Baroness Primarolo, is head of policy and public affairs at social justice law firm Thompsons Solicitors.
Greg Taylor, head of public affairs at the London School of Economics, was previously the “Principal Government Relations Officer” for Boris Johnson ’s team while he was Mayor of London. His access to Parliament is sponsored by Crossbench peer and former Deputy Director of the Bank of England Baroness Shafik.
An LSE spokesperson said: “The Parliamentary pass is used in support of Baroness Shafik’s work in the House of Lords.”
Five passholders declared they held paid or unpaid roles with CARE - a right-wing evangelical Christian pressure group which has actively campaigned against LGBT rights, abortion, stem cell research and assisted dying bills.
The group co-sponsored a conference in 2009 which was condemned by critics as endorsing a “gay cure” agenda.
Staff and volunteers for other right-wing Christian advocacy groups, including Christian Concern and Care for the Family also hold passes sponsored by peers.
Passholders can come and go as they please across the entire Parliamentary estate - including the Lords and Commons bars and restaurants where MPs, peers and ministers can frequently be found.
The Commons and Lords Terraces - London’s most exclusive beer gardens, which overlook the Thames - are open to them, as well as the infamous Strangers’ Bar, the Lords Dining Room and many more meeting spots in Parliament’s rabbit warren of corridors.
They are also entitled to book meeting rooms and hold events on their sponsor’s behalf in Parliament.
At least 25 passholders - an increase of 12 from last year’s analysis.sponsored by peers work for All-Party Parliamentary Groups(APPG)
These informal groups are formed to discuss policy on a range of issues from foreign affairs to opera and wine.
But campaigners warn these groups create a 'dark space' for private interests to gain access to ministers and civil servants.
The new Lords rulebook specifies: “Members may not sponsor a pass for anybody whose primary role is to support an All-Party Parliamentary Group.”
A House of Lords spokesperson said: “The clarification and amendment of the rules around Members’ sponsorship of Parliamentary passes ensures that any such pass may only be issued to an individual where the sponsoring Member has confirmed that the person will provide parliamentary secretarial or research assistance to them, and that the absence of a pass would make it impossible for that person to support the member effectively.
“Members’ staff are subject to a Code of Conduct requiring them to register their financial and certain non-financial interests and prohibiting them from using their access to the parliamentary email network or to the parliamentary estate to further the interests of an outside person or body from whom they have received or expect to receive payment or other incentive or reward. Like Members, they may not provide parliamentary advice or services to outside organisations in return for payment or any other incentive or reward.
“Any complaints regarding alleged breaches of these requirements will be carefully considered by the Commissioner for Standards.”
