I wrote back in May that the government was dragging its heels over a statutory register of lobbyists - and that ministers hoped to legislate next year after a lengthy consultation. The issue is now back on the agenda after Foxgate.
But one Lib Dem source has told today’s Guardian that there has been some resistance. In a candidate for ironic quote of the week, he said:
“We are pushing hard on this. It ran into a big of push-back from the lobbying industry.”
UPDATE: Kiran writes – One of the first lobbyists to speak out publicly this issue is Peter Bingle, chairman of Bell Pottinger. On his company’s blog this morning, Bingle has written a post called A musing on why lobbying is a good thing. In, he says:
Rather than deal with the real issues at the heart of the Liam Fox/Adam Werritty affair the focus has shifted onto the lobbying industry. It is all rather pathetic.
Bell Pottinger, by the way, is the company founded by Lord Bell – the man representing Michael Hintze, who helped support Adam Werritty. Chester Crocker, who chairs the investigations company G3 – another Werritty backer – sits on the board of Bell Pottinger Communications (US).
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey
