Archive for October 7th, 2012
UK commissioner clears Lord
(CNS): The UK House of Lords Commissioner for Standards has dismissed a complaint made about the director of the Cayman Islands London office, Lord Blencathra. In a letter sent to the British Conservative peer who was appointed to represent Cayman’s interests in the UK and Europe, Paul Kernaghan said he was satisfied that the member of the House of Lords had not breached its code of conduct. A copy of the letter dismissing the complaint and a press release was issued on Sunday evening by the Ministry of Finance some four days after a CNS news report that Cayman’s UK representative had been the subject of an enquiry as a result of the appointment.
In May Lord Blencathra released documents that he had sent to the commissioner and a letter stating that no complaints had been made about him in connection with his Cayman appointment. However, in July Paul Flyn MP filed a complaint and an enquiry was opened, though neither Blencathra nor the finance ministry revealed that information to the Cayman public.
An article in the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in the UK, published 2 October, indicated that a complaint had been filed and the Tory peer was, after all, the subject of a House of Lords probe. On 4 October CNS confirmed with the commissioner’s clerk in London that an investigation was in progress and the commissioner would file his report in due course. But he said he was unableto reveal any of the details as the enquiry was still underway.
In his letter to Lord Blencathra, which was dated 27 September, Kernaghan said that he had found that the member was not providing parliamentary advice or services to the Cayman Islands Government Office so he was not in breach. He stated that a report would be given to the sub-committee shortly but that he felt Blencathra would wish to know his decision as soon as possible.
Related articles:
UK Lord is focus of probe (4 October 2012)
No complaint about UK lord (26 June 2012)