Public trust is damaged when a former PM and ministers are caught up in a cronyism scandal, and must be repaired
Ministers will wait until the final version of a report on lobbying is published before announcing which of its recommendations they plan to accept. Given the damage caused by the close involvement of a former prime minister, David Cameron, in the Greensill lobbying scandal, and the fact that ministers have now been defeated twice in court over the improper award of contracts, the delay is an unwise as it is unsurprising.
By far the best course for the prime minister would be to indicate now that he will do as Lord Evans, chair of the committee on standards in public life (and a former head of MI5), advises. The measures are hardly revolutionary. A ban on ministers and senior civil servants lobbying for five years after leaving office makes sense. So does the suggestion that the public appointments watchdog should get new powers, including the right to prevent ministers taking certain jobs. Given the pace of change in institutions, the current two-year prohibition on lobbying is too short, making it likely that ministers will end up trying to influence former colleagues. There clearly are circumstances in which a rapid move from government to a particular private-sector role would not be appropriate. The proposal for new penalties for rule-breakers is logical too: if rules are to be treated seriously, infractions must be punished.
