‘Wholly inadequate’ lobbying register must cover foreign firms, watchdog says

Sophie Wingate, Press Association Deputy Political Editor

The system for ensuring transparency in lobbying is “wholly inadequate”, the UK Government’s ethics watchdog has said, while calling for a “fundamental change” including a tenfold hike to fines for breaching the rules to £75,000.

The Government should urgently create a register of all lobbying activity to replace the current regime, which does not require in-house lobbyists employed by tech giants, defence firms and foreign companies to detail their work lobbying ministers, according to the Ethics and Integrity Commission (EIC).

The panel noted the obligation under the existing statutory register for professional consultancy lobbyists – who make up only around 20% of UK lobbyists – and those over a VAT threshold of £90,000 to enlist, capturing only a small proportion of those seeking to influence government decision-making.

“Much of the most significant lobbying for government contracts (is) carried out in-house by leading international companies in, for example, the ‘big tech’ and defence sectors,” the EIC said.

The “far too high” VAT threshold “exempts a significant amount of lobbying from disclosure” including businesses based abroad, the report said, noting that a previous review of foreign financial interference in UK politics by former top civil servant Philip Rycroft identified this as a “loophole which should be closed”.

The EIC report stated: “We have concluded that, as a general principle, anyone seeking to influence government policy and procurement decisions should be required to record details of the lobbying undertaken.”

EIC chairman Doug Chalmers said in the foreword: “It should be easy to see who is seeking to influence government, about what and how.

“We heard that the register of consultant lobbyists covers just 4-6% of the lobbying that takes place. The current UK lobbying system therefore fails to deliver the required level of transparency.”

The retired lieutenant general continued: “The Register of Consultant Lobbyists should be replaced by a register of all lobbying activity.

“We understand that expanding the scope of the register will require primary legislation and we would urge the Government to begin work on a new Bill now.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer commissioned the review in March in the wake of the Lord Peter Mandelson scandal.

The publication of documents relating to the peer’s appointment as ambassador to the US, ordered by MPs after his sacking over his links to paedophile Jeffery Epstein, raised questions about his lobbying work including on behalf of foreign clients.

WhatsApp

The documents, which contained few messages from Sir Keir due to his use of WhatsApp’s auto-delete function, also sparked criticism of ministers using the messaging app for official business.

The EIC’s report recommends that Government transparency releases should include details of exchanges through non-corporate communication channels, including WhatsApp.

Currently, details of ministers’ and senior civil servants’ meetings with external organisations have to be included in transparency releases, but not other methods of communication, where “significant lobbying can take place”.

The review also urges the Government to improve its transparency data, which it says are difficult to find, published in different formats across dozens of webpages and “sometimes impossible” to reconcile with the register of consultant lobbyists.

A consolidated AI-enabled register should be created to bring together a lobbying register and Government transparency releases, the EIC said.

It said that as well as ministers and permanent secretaries, lobbyists should also have to register communications with senior civil servants and special advisers – who can act as the “gatekeepers” to their ministers and wield major influence.

The watchdog also called for tougher penalties for breaching the Lobbying Act.

Noting that the current fine of £7,500 is far smaller than Germany’s £50,000 and the US’s £154,000, it suggested a tenfold increase to £75,000 per offence.

Financial interests

Elsewhere, the EIC called for improvements to the publication of public office holders’ financial interests, arguing that the current system forces journalists, researchers and members of the public to navigate “fragmented” registers.

And it said the Government should modernise the business appointment rules governing jobs that ex-ministers take after leaving office.

The dispersal of responsibility for assessing the jobs for conflicts of interest to eight separate bodies, following the closure last year of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), lacks “coordination and standardisation”.

The EIC was launched in 2025 as part of an overhaul aimed at restoring trust in standards in public life.

A Government spokesperson said: “We would like to thank the commission, and Doug Chalmers as chair, for its thorough and considered work on these important matters.

“Strengthening transparency and standards has been a central aim of this Government, which has overseen landmark reforms to the role of the Independent Adviser, Ministerial Code, register of gifts and hospitality, and political finance rules.

“As set out in the review’s terms of reference, we will now carefully consider the report’s findings and present the Government’s response in a timely manner.”