Committee publication · Report · 1 May 2025 · HC 832
2nd report - Andrew Bridgen
From: Committee on Standards
Summary
The Committee on Standards investigated whether former MP Andrew Bridgen breached the Code of Conduct by failing to register a £4.47 million interest-free loan from financier Jeremy Hosking within the 28-day deadline. The Committee concluded the loan was registrable and should have been registered in October 2020 when payments began, not December 2023. Though the breach was inadvertent, the Committee found Bridgen acted wrongly in believing the loan needed no registration.
Key findings
- The loan from Jeremy Hosking totalling £4,470,576.42 was a registrable interest despite being for private legal costs, because Hosking was a known political donor and Bridgen's relationship with him was political in nature.
- The first payment was registered 1,135 days late (October 2020 to December 2023), constituting a breach of Paragraph 14 of the 2019 Code and Paragraph 5 of the 2023 Code of Conduct.
- Bridgen did not seek formal written advice from the Registrar until November 2023, three years after payments began, and claimed without evidence that he had received telephone advice that registration was unnecessary.
- The 'safe harbour' provision did not protect Bridgen because the Registrar's written advice related to whether to register, not the timing; Bridgen received no prior formal advice about timing.
- Bridgen declined the Commissioner's offer of rectification (which would have required acknowledging the breach and apologizing), stating he acted in good faith and did not believe he breached any rule.
Recommendations
- Bridgen should acknowledge he was wrong, even if honestly wrong, to believe the £4.47 million loan was not registrable, and should apologize to the House as the Commissioner recommended.
- Members should seek advice from the Registrar of Members' Financial Interests at the earliest opportunity if there is any doubt whether an interest should be registered, to avoid late registrations and inadvertent breaches and to enable reliance on the safe harbour provision.
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
Andrew Bridgen, Jeremy Hosking, Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards (Daniel Greenberg), Registrar of Members' Financial Interests, Committee on Standards, Alberto Costa (Committee Chair)
Notable line
“If there is any doubt, the benefit should be registered.”
Key Quotes
“If there is any doubt, the benefit should be registered.”
“We did not meet often enough to be that close about anything. I probably met him once or twice a year, and in some of the meetings we were discussing purely legal matters, of, say, an appeal, a report or a second opinion, and that would be either on the phone or a Zoom call.”
“… the loan was a registrable interest, and that by failing to register the loan within the 28-day timeframe set by the House, Mr Bridgen breached paragraph 14 of the 2019 Code of Conduct and Rule 5 of the 2023 Code of Conduct.”
“… given Mr Bridgen has already registered two donations from Mr Hosking in this calendar year there could be a perception of a connection between the donor and Mr Bridgen's position as an MP. For that reason our advice would be to register this loan.”
“We conclude that the funds provided by Mr Hosking to Mr Bridgen were a registrable interest and should have been first registered within 28 days of Mr Hosking's first donation. Mr Bridgen was wrong to believe that he need not register those payments.”
“The motivation of any complainant, or the circumstances in which a complaint is made (unless the complainant is an injured party) is irrelevant to that decision.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗