MP who oversees parliamentary standards broke rules but should face no punishment, committee says

Sir Kevin Barron sponsored events in Parliament for a Japanese pharmaceutical company

Sir Kevin Barron will resume his role as the chair of the Committee on Standards

The MP who chairs the committee overseeing ethical standards in the House of Commons broke the code of conduct he enforces, an inquiry has found.

An internal investigation into Labour’s Sir Kevin Barron by the Standards Committee found he broke the rules by accepting payment for the use of facilities in the Commons.

Sir Kevin sponsored events in Parliament on behalf of the Japanese Pharmaceutical Group (JPG), including dinners and breakfast meetings.

Though the investigation found that MP did not accept any payment himself he had however asked for money to be directed to a charity of his choice – which still breaches rules.

The MP will not face any sanction or punishment, however, because the committee said the breach was minor and inadvertent.

House of Commons rules say MPs should not use Commons resources to “confer any undue personal or financial benefit on themselves or anyone else”.

The report by the committee follows a separate investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

The committee’s report said: “We would not wish to lose sight of the fact that this is a minor matter and we agree with the Commissioner’s finding that it was an inadvertent error.”

“The evidence shows that Kevin Barron fully complied with the rules and practices of the House of Commons at that time on, and was fully transparent in, registering and declaring this interest.”

“Kevin Barron has cooperated fully with the Commissioner’s investigation and we agree with her conclusion that the inquiry has raised no doubts over Kevin Barron’s integrity and honesty. We consider that no further action is required.”

In a statement, Sir Kevin said: “The report published today has found no serious breaches as I always maintained. The inquiry has found a ‘minor’ and ‘inadvertent’ breach of a banqueting rule. I felt that I had taken all the steps I could to check the rules, but acknowledge my mistake.

“Just to make it absolutely clear, this arrangement led to no personal financial gain as payment was made, as a donation, to a local children’s hospice in my constituency.

“I would like to thank Kathryn Hudson, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, for her very thorough investigation into this matter and the Committee on Standards for their judgment.

“I will be resuming my duties as chair of the Committee on Standards and the Committee of Privileges. It has always been a huge honour to chair these committees and I am delighted to return to this role.”