Ex-ministers who break rules should be fined up to £16,000, says watchdog chief

Former ministers who break the rules governing jobs outside of politics should be fined up to three months’ salary, the head of the watchdog overseeing appointments has said.

Tory peer Lord Eric Pickles has again expressed his frustration with the lack of firm punishment for those who break the lobbying rules of his Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba).

Warning Rishi Sunak that “further scandals are inevitable”, Lord Pickles called on the prime minister to hand the body fresh powers to fine ministers up to £16,000.

“The business appointment rules have not kept pace with a world where ... the average span of a ministerial career is two years,” Lord Pickles wrote in The Telegraph. “The system is creaking and long overdue for reform.”

The Acoba chief suggested that ex-ministers are banned from taking any roles in industries they oversaw while in government for up to two years, with fines worth up to three months’ salary for any breach.

Lord Pickles, previously the minister for local government in David Cameron’s administration, admitted his anti-corruption committee is essentially “toothless” and “thick-skinned” politicians can ignore it.

Acoba is only an advisory body, so former ministers can opt to ignore its recommendations on conditions of employment. But the ministerial code does state that once ministers leave office, they are not allowed to lobby government for two years.

Lord Pickles told Radio 4’s World At One that reform is needed “immediately”, adding: “I don’t believe we have time to wait for legislation. There are changes the government could take immediately and be in operation in a matter of weeks. That would be a great way to start the new year.”

He also warned Mr Sunak that No 10 “cannot afford” to lose another ethics adviser, the head of the business appointments watchdog has warned. It comes days after the PM filled the six-month vacancy by appointing veteran banker Sir Laurie Magnus.

Lord Pickles said Lord Geidt’s time as ethics adviser to Boris “was just like watching a train crash in slow motion”, and said Sir Laurie will require “a lot of co-operation from the government” if he is to rebuild the role.

Acoba recently reprimanded Matt Hancock for failing to seek its advice before filming appearances on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! and Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.

Lord Pickles said it was clear the ex-health secretary had broken the rules by “failing to seek and await advice” – but found it would be “disproportionate” to take any further action against him.

Mr Hancock had claimed he did not believe he needed to ask the body’s permission for either show “as the guidelines state that one-off media appearances such as these do not count as an appointment or employment”.

Former Tory chancellor Philip Hammond was reprimanded by Acoba last year, having been found to have breached the rules after contacting a Treasury official on behalf of OakNorth bank.

Acoba said it was the Cabinet Office “to decide what appropriate action to take”, but the Cabinet Office said no sanctions were necessary.

Acoba gave Boris Johnson permission to take up speaking gigs through the Harry Walker agency from December, asking him to wait three months from leaving office.

However, the former prime minister has reportedly already made over £1m from just four speeches since leaving Downing Street this year. It was suggested that his first speaking engagement to insurance brokers in the US in September was a one-off.

Mr Johnson previously broke Acoba rules by failing to notify the body of his regular column for The Telegraph after departing as foreign secretary in 2018.