Keep calm and carry on: 5 MPs who shrugged off Westminster’s revolving door watchdog

LONDON — Who’s afraid of ACOBA?

The U.Ok.’s revolving door watchdog — snappily referred to as the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments — is again within the headlines as Westminster awaits its verdict on Sue Gray, the previous senior civil servant who stop to take up a job with the opposition Labour Party.

ACOBA’s job is to weigh the restrictions prime officers and ministers ought to have imposed on them once they tackle post-government roles, in a bid to cease folks from cashing in on their insider data.

Yet MPs themselves don’t appear too spooked by the watchdog, whose rulings are solely advisory and which can not impose any sanctions for rule-breaking.

Should Gray want some inspiration to plow on regardless, right here’s POLITICO’s useful round-up of 5 current senior MPs who didn’t let an indignant ACOBA letter get them down.

Matt Hancock

The former well being secretary turned, er, camel-penis-eating reality star is aware of ACOBA effectively. The watchdog criticized Hancock for signing as much as the hit actuality present “I’m A Celebrity … Get me Out of Here!” with out its permission — although the MP argued he didn’t imagine he wanted permission for a “one-off media appearance.”

Hancock went forward with kickstarting his post-politics profession anyway — and finished in a respectable third place on I’m A Celeb.

Priti Patel

Back in 2019 and out of presidency, Patel attracted criticism after failing to strategy ACOBA earlier than accepting a place with advisory agency Viasat. Under the ministerial code, former ministers are supposed to search steerage earlier than they take up any new gigs inside two years of leaving workplace — and they’re not supposed to start out till ACOBA’s recommendation has been obtained.

Patel first approached the watchdog for recommendation on her profitable new function a month after she had began within the place. Whoops!

Nadine Dorries

The shut ally of Boris Johnson and former tradition secretary has pivoted into TV, with a brand new function as a late-night host on talkTV. Dorries was discovered to have breached ACOBA’s guidelines by failing to strategy the watchdog in good time earlier than taking over the gig.

However, ACOBA didn’t suggest any additional motion, and Dorries can nonetheless be discovered on TV screens throughout the nation on Friday nights.

Philip Hammond

The former chancellor obtained a rap on the knuckles from ACOBA for contacting Whitehall officers on behalf of his new employer — a London-based lender.

The watchdog stated Hammond’s messages to Treasury officers had been “not consistent” with the principles on lobbying and entry for former authorities workers. Hammond hit again and stated ACOBA was solely attempting to “reveal that it isn’t ‘toothless’” amid renewed scrutiny of Westminster’s lobbying tradition.

Boris Johnson

Even the previous prime minister has had his run-ins with ACOBA.

After quitting his function as overseas secretary in Theresa May’s authorities, Johnson took up a profitable function as a columnist on the Daily Telegraph — however (you guessed it) with out informing the watchdog beforehand. ACOBA said it was “unacceptable” Johnson solely instructed them concerning the column a full fortnight after he had signed a contract with the newspaper.

He saved writing the £275,000-a-year weekly column anyway.