Net-zero carbon advocate Lord Deben cleared in conflict of interest probe

The governments climate adviser Lord Deben has been cleared of wrongdoing after accusations his advice to government benefited companies which were clients of a family-run business.

Sancroft, an environmental consultancy which Lord Deben chairs, was paid £600,000 by clients which “stood to make millions from his advice to ministers”, the Mail on Sunday alleged in February.

After the article a group of MPs, including David Davies, reported Lord Deben for not “adequately” describing Sancrofts activities. They also claimed Lord Deben had “failed to declare his interest … appropriately when intervening in several debates in the house.”

However, the Lords commissioner for standards, who opened an investigation into Lord Deben in February, today said she had found no evidence of wrongdoing.

Lord Deben never denied Sancroft, which he chairs, consulted for the companies, including Johnson Matthey, which supplies materials for electric vehicle batteries.

The commissioner found that allegations that Lord Deben benefited the firm when speaking in favour of electric vans in the Lords were unfounded. Johnson Mattheys batteries business makes up less than three per cent of its operating profits.

The commissioner, Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, questioned “how Lord Deben and Sancroft might benefit from Lord Deben speaking in favour of a policy which might at some point benefit a minority aspect of Johnson Mattheys work is not made clear in the complaints or evidence.”

She also drew similar conclusions about Sancrofts connections to Drax.

“Having investigated the allegations and gathered the relevant facts, I do not consider Lord Debens interest in Sancroft or its clients to be relevant interests that required declaration,” she added.

Lord Deben chairs the Committee on Climate Change, which last month proposed the government adoptRead More – Source

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