New Senedd Presiding Officer in conflict of interest row

Martin Shipton

The Senedd’s new Presiding Officer Huw Irranca-Davies has been criticised for failing to declare that his son was working for a lobbying firm specialising in renewable energy policy when he was the Minister responsible for that policy area.

And the fact that he was not obliged to declare such an association under Senedd rules has led to a call for the rules on conflicts of interest to be strengthened.

A civil servant who cannot be identified contacted Nation.Cymru to raise concerns about the undeclared interest involving Mr Irranca-Davies and his son Iwan.

A briefing note written by the civil servant states: “Huw Irranca-Davies MS was elected Presiding Officer (Llywydd) of the Senedd on May 12 2026 — the most senior and politically impartial role in Welsh democracy.

“Evidence obtained from LinkedIn and the official Senedd Register of Interests (as at April 8 2026) indicates that throughout his tenure as Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs (March 2024 – May 2026), his son Iwan Irranca-Davies was employed by Grasshopper Communications, a Cardiff-based agency specialising in lobbying Welsh Government ministers and Senedd Members on renewable energy policy. This employment was never declared in his Register of Interests.

“Grasshopper Communications’ work is directly relevant to the ministerial brief previously held by Huw Irranca-Davies. It has a specialist focus on the energy infrastructure, regeneration and environmental sectors, with a documented record of lobbying Welsh Government Ministers and Senedd Members on renewable energy transition.

“Grasshopper supported a Renewable UK Cymru briefing event engaging with Welsh Government Ministers and MSs about Wales’ green energy transition, and secured statements of opinion from Senedd Members on renewable energy policy.

No declaration

The Senedd Register of Interests for Huw Irranca-Davies contains no declaration of any family member’s employment in the energy or communications sector. Specifically, Category 2 (Remunerated employment): lists only his spouse’s NHS radiographer role.

Category 12 (Employment of family members with Commission support) is declared as ‘None’ and no category contains any reference to Grasshopper Communications or the renewable energy sector.

The briefing note states: “While the undeclared interest is significant in itself during his ministerial tenure, the election of Huw Irranca-Davies as Presiding Officer raises the stakes considerably: The Presiding Officer is constitutionally required to be politically impartial at all times.

“As Llywydd, he will chair Senedd debates on energy policy, planning legislation, and climate matters for the duration of the Seventh Senedd.

“He chairs the Senedd Commission, which oversees the institution’s governance.

“Grasshopper Communications will continue to lobby the Senedd and Welsh Government throughout this period.

“The Presiding Officer is widely regarded as the most impartial figure in Welsh public life — transparency about potential conflicts of interest is therefore essential.

Questions

The briefing note ends with a number of questions:

* Was Iwan Irranca-Davies’ employment at Grasshopper Communications ever verbally declared, even if not recorded in the written register?

* Did Huw Irranca-Davies have any ministerial involvement in decisions, policies, or planning matters that directly benefited Grasshopper Communications clients?

* Now that he is Presiding Officer, will Huw Irranca-Davies declare his son’s employment in the new Seventh Senedd register?

* What steps will be taken to ensure impartiality when Grasshopper Communications clients appear before or lobby the Senedd?

Transparency

We asked the Senedd Commission to respond to the briefing note. A spokesperson said: “All Members, including the Llywydd and Deputy Presiding Officer, are required to register their registerable interests within eight weeks of taking the Oath or Affirmation. These requirements are designed to ensure transparency and manage any potential conflicts of interest. There is no requirement to register the employment of non-dependent children.”

The civil servant who raised the issue with us said: “It’s normal procedure when civil servants are undergoing security clearance that they are asked questions about all close members of their family – even a former spouse from whom one was divorced many years before. It seems quite extraordinary that an MS doesn’t have to declare the interests of their children, even more so when one works for a lobbying company operating in exactly the same policy area covered by the ministerial portfolio of their father.

“A non-dependent child is far more likely to lead to concerns about a conflict of interest than a dependent child, who will almost always be too young to have financial interests.

‘Not required’ is not the same as ‘not a problem’. A reasonable member of the public could absolutely argue that a Minister whose son works for a lobbying firm operating in his exact policy area should have been transparent about that – even voluntarily.

“Perhaps Huw Irranca-Davies needs to be reminded of the Nolan principles of public office: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership.”

“The rules clearly need to be tightened.”

Clare Jones, the managing director of Grasshopper Communications, said: “I can confirm that Iwan Irranca-Davies ceased working for Grasshopper in February 2025. We understand however that he has not updated his LinkedIn profile to reflect this.”

Iwan Irranca-Davies has now updated his profile to read: “Previous communications manager currently taking the opportunity to travel the world.”