Cleaning up: Maybe the Hon’ble Speaker should take a look at London for answers

• Donation to my constituency party from Constituency Labour Club (Trimdon) Limited.

Such declarations are now mandatory for all British MPs to “The Register of Members’ Interests,” published under the authority of the Committee on Standards and Privileges, the most direct fallout of a series of reforms after the cash-for-question scandal in 1995.

While Indian MPs need to declare their assets come election time, British MPs have to regularly declare—before each Parliament session—paid directorships, employment, sponsorships, overseas visits, gifts and hospitality received, shareholding details and even unremunerative interests like being member of a trust.

This unprecedented norm of disclosure came after The Guardian, in october 1994, alleged that London’s most successful Parliamentary lobbyist, Ian Greer of Ian Greer Associates, had bribed two Conservative MPs in exchange for asking Parliamentary questions on behalf of the controversial Egyptian owner of Harrod’s Mohamed Al Fayed.

The Guardian’s report alleged that Al-Fayed approached the paper and accused Ian Greer of paying Neil Hamilton and Tim Smith to table Parliamentary questions on his behalf at œ2000 per question.

Smith resigned immediately after admitting to accepting payments from Al-Fayed himself but not from Ian Greer. Hamilton and Greer immediately issued libel writs in the High Court.

The furore prompted Prime Minister John Major to set up the Nolan Committee which submitted, in six months, a report that formed the basis of a process of reform.

The basic principle was that outside employment, interests and “selling services to firms engaged in lobbying’’ reduced the authority of the Parliament. Two, all interests, and conflicts of interest, should be set out in detail in writing just after the session.

The key Nolan reforms:

• Paid advocacy should not be allowed for MPs. This includes speaking on behalf of, putting a question for, or arranging or going as part of delegations concerning, interests for which the MP is receiving payment.

• A new post of Parliamentary Commission for Standards would maintain a Register of Members’ Interests, advise MPs on their conduct and investigate complaints.

• A new Committee on Standards and Privileges would probe complaints against individual MPs.

• A new Code of Conduct for members was published in July 1996.

• In 1998, the Committee on Standards reported on the funding of political parties and in January 2000, it reviewed the implementation of the first report and addressed new issues, such as the regulation of special advisers to ministers.

• Since then, the Committee has dealt with the relationships between Ministers, Special Advisers and the Civil Service—issues which are hot-button here.

• A tenth inquiry, into processes for maintaining high standards of conduct in public bodies, local government and the National Health Service is pending.