Lord (Malcolm) Pearson of RannochWhy do Members of the House of Lords not declare their well-paid interest in the EU?
by Christoper Booker
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A fine example of how our political class looks after its own has been a long-running saga in the House of Lords over its normally strict rules about "declaring an interest". Lord Pearson of Rannoch has long been exercised over the fact that, although as the father of a handicapped child he has been formally instructed that he must always declare this when contributing to debates on disability, no such strictures seem to apply to the dozen or so peers, such as the six former EU Commissioners, who receive hefty pensions from the EU.They are free to lavish fulsome praise on the EU and all its works whenever they wish without ever having to mention that it is paying them up to £75,000 a year.
by Christoper Booker
.
A fine example of how our political class looks after its own has been a long-running saga in the House of Lords over its normally strict rules about "declaring an interest". Lord Pearson of Rannoch has long been exercised over the fact that, although as the father of a handicapped child he has been formally instructed that he must always declare this when contributing to debates on disability, no such strictures seem to apply to the dozen or so peers, such as the six former EU Commissioners, who receive hefty pensions from the EU.They are free to lavish fulsome praise on the EU and all its works whenever they wish without ever having to mention that it is paying them up to £75,000 a year.
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After pressure from Lord Pearson and various other peers, including two former senior cabinet ministers, the former Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf was asked to pronounce on this matter on behalf of the Lords Privileges Committee.
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He recommended unequivocally that "members of the House in receipt of pensions from the European Union should as a matter of course declare such pensions as a financial interest when taking part in debates, statements and questions onEuropean Union matters".
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Uniquely, the committee, including Lord Williamson of Horton, the EU's former top civil servant, and Lord Howe of Aberavon, has now decided that Lord Woolf's recommendation can be ignored. Sure enough, in yet another debate on the EU last Thursday, Lord Williamson and a bevy of former Commissioners came out with their usual stream of pro-EU platitudes, without once having to mention those handsome cheques they receive from Brussels.
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