Matt Hancock was forced to apologize for violating parliamentary rules. Photo: Steve Parsons/PA
Matt Hancock has apologized to Parliament after it was found that he violated parliamentary rules by attempting to influence an investigation into a Conservative MP.
House of Commons Standards Committee finds that the former health secretary committed a «minor breach» of parliamentary rules after he wrote a letter in defense of Steve Russell, a Conservative MP who was under investigation for lobbying.
A committee of MPs that oversees the work of the parliamentary standards commissioner has ordered the former health minister to apologize. more than 100,000 WhatsApp messages sent between Mr. Hancock and other ministers and officials at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards concluded that Mr. Russell, who chairs the House Select Committee Community Health and Welfare Services, twice failed to indicate that he was a paid consultant to a health recruitment company when contacting ministers on behalf of the firm.
In one message sent to Michael Gove in February 2021, Mr Russol claimed he had been trying «for months» to get the NHS to hire anesthesiologists through Remedium Partners.
Steve Russell 1 (from Michael Gove's chat)
Mr Russell admitted that he «violated the declaration rule» and was «happy to apologize without reservation.»
In a letter sent on March 28 to Daniel Greenberg, Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Mr Hancock said he was «strongly convinced» that Mr Russell was «acting solely in the national interest» when he offered the services of a healthcare staffing company. .
He added: “I believe that Mr. Rassol, like many people, has done his duty and tried to help the government fulfill our mission. He also made it clear that he was a paid consultant for this company, so he did not try to hide this information.
“Given the situation in which he was, it would be inappropriate to remain inactive. I understand that nothing ultimately came of this approach and that after this company was duly handed over to officials independent of the ministers, the contract with the company in question was not awarded.
“Therefore, I I firmly believe that Mr Russell did nothing wrong and should be cleared of all charges as his actions were in keeping with his responsibilities as a Member of Parliament and as a British citizen in helping our country at a time of need.”
“Insufficient attention » to rules
The standards committee found that Mr. Hancock violated paragraph 14 of the code of conduct, which states that MPs must not lobby the committee or the standards commissioner «in a manner calculated or intended to influence the consideration of whether there has been a breach of the code of conduct.» , or in connection with the imposition of a sanction.
In the commissioner's view, the violation of the code was «probably the unintended result of not realizing that the rules of the House of Representatives would be affected by this particular approach.»
He added that lobbying was «relatively lenient» and «probably due to negligence” and not because of “a deliberate attempt to undermine the Commissioner’s investigation into Mr. Rassol.”
The Committee stated that Mr. Hancock showed “lack of attention” to the rule and that, given his experience as a former Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament for more than 10 years, it «concerns» that he «did not take into account these provisions of the code».
In a statement Monday in the House of Commons, Mr. Mr. Hancock said: “The Standards Committee found that I did not seek to break the rules, had no chance of personal gain, and acted without malicious intent.
“However, they recommended that I apologize to the House of Representatives and the Commissioner for this minor infraction and emphasize that code enforcement and processes for investigating potential code violations are an important and necessary part of the code. and I'm happy to do it.»
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