Premier, chief officer to meet with lobbyist this week
Allegations that a London-based lobbyist paid by the Cayman Islands government for his services broke parliamentary ethics rules surfaced again over the weekend, with two United Kingdom publications reporting that Lord Blencathra’s contract with Cayman involved influencing members of parliament as well as the central government.
Lord Blencathra, a sitting member of the House of Lords, on Monday “categorically denied” any breaches of the House of Lords Code of Conduct and said he had not lobbied members of parliament in his duties with the Cayman Islands government.
“I have [Monday] morning referred myself to the Lord’s Commissioner for Standards so that he can investigate the allegations personally,” Lord Blencathra said in an email to the Caymanian Compass. “I have refuted [the allegations] and I categorically deny that I am in breach of the code.
“[The writer of one of the U.K. newspaper articles] has looked at the original contract which had included lobbying parliament and has automatically assumed that I was in breach of the code, irrespective of whether or not I was lobbying,” Lord Blencathra added, stating that the sentence about lobbying U.K. MPs was removed from the agreement. “The contract was then changed in December 2012 to remove all reference to MPs and parliament – so that there could be no perception even that I was doing that.
“This is a rehash of the original allegations which was fully investigated and I was cleared,” Lord Blencathra said. “I did not lobby parliament and that was accepted by the commissioner for standards.”
Lord Blencathra, whose given name is David MacLean, was appointed as director of the Cayman Islands London office in late 2011. His appointment caused a minor uproar both in the Cayman Islands, where some lawmakers felt the post should go to a Caymanian (the London office was formerly run by now retired Information Commissioner Jennifer Dilbert), and in the U.K., where Labour Party MPs cried foul over alleged conflicts of interest.
In 2012, the U.K. Commissioner for Standards dismissed a complaint against Lord Blencathra in the House of Lords, indicating the peer had not breached the U.K.’s Parliamentary Code of Conduct. Commissioner Paul Kernaghan found in his review that Lord Blencathra had not been “providing parliamentary advice or services to the Cayman Islands government in the United Kingdom.”
Opponents of Lord Blencathra’s appointment argued that differentiating between lobbying government and lobbying parliament was too fine a distinction and represented a “loophole” that should be closed.
A House of Lords committee has since revised its rules for lobbying, and Lord Blencathra said he will adhere to them.
Changes approved by the Lords’ Privileges and Conduct Committee, made public earlier this year in the U.K., state that House of Lords members should decline all but “insignificant or incidental” gifts from lobbyists. Any gift, benefit or hospitality worth more than £140 (US$231) would have to be registered.
In addition, peers would be banned from lobbying members of either houses of U.K. Parliament, ministers or government officials in return for payment or other reward under the planned code changes. Staff members who work for the Lords would be required to register all “third-party employment,” regardless of what the job entails.
“If the Cayman Islands government wants to continue with my contract, then we will need to amend it slightly so that it will match the revised code,” Lord Blencathra said.
Premier Alden McLaughlin and his chief officer at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Eric Bush, are expected to meet with Lord Blencathra this week while they are in London. The premier’s office did not state its views on whether Lord Blencathra would be able to continue in his current position.
Cayman Finance, the Cayman Islands-based financial industry association, previously indicated its concern over the situation in a statement released by the group’s chief executive officer, Gonzalo Jalles. Mr. Jalles said Lord Blencathra has “provided invaluable support to our industry and the Cayman Islands in general.
“It is critical that we maintain an active and ongoing effort in London, beyond what the rest of the London office can provide,” Mr. Jalles said. “Our competitor jurisdictions have physical presence in several locations; Cayman cannot afford to take a passive role.”
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Money for old rope was the old expression. This man has achieved nothing for Cayman in any context since his appointment by our previous premier, whilst enjoying an almost obscene salary for the position he holds.
Gonzalo Jalles (who if I remember correctly came to Cayman Finance from HSBC) observes – Our competitor jurisdictions have physical presence in several locations; Cayman cannot afford to take a passive role.
True comment but do they employ politicians at public expense? No they do not, in most cases their lobbyists are funded by the private sector.
I’m not saying that Lord Blencathra has done anything wrong but it seems perverse that an Overseas Territory is handing over large amounts of money to a member of the House of Lords to do a PR job for them.
In fact I can think of very few things that would cause less controversy or encourage more media attention. In blunt terms – it was a dumb move.