Conduct Committee

Lord Geddes Excerpts

Monday 2nd February 2026 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Devon (CB)]

My Lords, if I may, before I speak to the Motion, and in the light of the tributes to the noble Lord, Lord McFall, from the Front Benches, I offer a brief thank you from the Back Benches for his tireless and devoted service to our House.

On behalf of my noble friend Lord Kakkar, who is unable to be present today, I beg to move the Motion standing in his name on the Order Paper. The report before the House on the conduct of the noble Earl, Lord Shrewsbury, follows allegations in the Guardian newspaper that the noble Earl had made improper claims for travel expenses. In brief, the commissioner for standards found that the noble Earl had used a rover ticket, purchased with a House of Lords credit card, to travel from London to Stafford and back for a business meeting, and that he had made mileage claims in respect of four journeys that were, in reality, never made. The commissioner dismissed further unrelated allegations relating to the declarations of interest and provision of paid parliamentary services. The noble Earl did not appeal against either the commissioner’s findings or his recommended sanction, which was that the noble Earl be suspended from the service of the House for two weeks.

In the absence of an appeal, the role of the Conduct Committee was limited to considering the recommended sanction, and we gave serious thought to this matter. After an initial discussion, we sought further written representations from the commissioner and from the noble Earl. We are grateful to both of them for supplying this additional information. In our subsequent discussion, we reflected carefully on the various mitigating and aggravating factors. We accept that the noble Earl did not act dishonestly and that he swiftly apologised and repaid the sum involved, which was just under £200. However, we also consider that any breach of the Code of Conduct that involves misuse of public funds is inherently serious. While the noble Earl did not act dishonestly, his use of the rover ticket was intentional and his approach to mileage claims was unacceptably casual. We therefore concluded that a short suspension was merited, and we endorse the commissioner’s recommendation that the noble Earl be suspended from the service of the House for two weeks. I beg to move.

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord Geddes) (Con)]

My Lords, under Standing Order 68, no debate is allowed on this Motion. I must therefore put the Question that this Motion be agreed to.

Motion agreed.