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Letter from the Parliamentary Commissioner
for Standards to Mr Keith Lockwood of Vauxhall Motors
I am currently conducting, on behalf of the
House of Commons Select Committee on Standards and Privileges,
an inquiry into allegations by The Guardian and Mr Mohamad
Al-Fayed against Mr Neil Hamilton and other Members, including
Sir Michael Grylls. In conducting my inquiry I am relying
principally on complaints formally submitted to me, but I am also
required by my terms of reference to look into allegations which
have appeared in the media.
In the recently published book Sleaze: the
Corruption of Parliament, written by Guardian journalists,
there is an allegation on pages 29 and 30 (copy attached)
[65] that Sir
Michael (Mr as he then was) "touted" for business (the
Rank Xerox account) for Mr Ian Greer's lobbying company, knowing
that he (Mr Grylls) stood to benefit from this through an introductory
fee. You are quoted as a material witness to this allegation on
the basis that it was your own company, Shandwick, which were
also interested in securing the Rank Xerox contract.
I would be grateful if you could let me have
a statement on your own knowledge of the matters which form the
grounds for this allegation, indicating whether there are other
witnesses who could provide corroborative evidence.
I would appreciate an early reply.
In conclusion, I should point out, as is my
practice with all witnesses, that evidence supplied for the purposes
of this enquiry, and any related correspondence, is covered by
Parliamentary privilege and remains confidential unless and until
it is published by the Select Committee on Standards and Privileges
to whom I shall report. If such evidence or correspondence were
published or divulged to a third party without the express authority
of the Select Committee it would not be covered by Parliamentary
privilege, and this would also be likely to exclude reliance
on any privilege which it might otherwise attract at common law.
Moreover, such an unauthorised disclosure would be likely to
constitute a contempt of the House. Any attempt to obstruct my
enquiry by any other means could also be treated as a contempt.
29 January 1997
Letter from Mr Keith Lockwood to the Parliamentary
Commissioner for Standards
Thank you for your letter of 19 January. My
apologies for the delay in replying, a number of overseas visits
interfered with efficient administration.
The report in Sleaze: the Corruption of Parliament
covering an event during my employment at Shandwick plc during
1982-1983 seems correct as it can be recalled. I'm afraid that
I cannot pinpoint the name of the executive from Rank Xerox who
was also present at that time. As you will observe from this letter
I am now with Vauxhall Motors, having left Shandwick in 1988.
These concerns were also covered in another
book MPs for Hire published by Bloomsbury in 1991. However,
on that occasion my name was not used. A Granada Television documentary
also covered this and other events at about the same time.
I remain of the view that Members of Parliament
should not use their positions to gain commission from referrals
to public affairs companies.
I would also appreciate an opportunity at some
stage to discuss the whole question of discount car sales and
"free" car loans to Members of Parliament. It is not
something of which I approve, neither can it be justified in
Parliamentary terms.
Thank you again for taking the trouble to write.
Keith Lockwood
26 February 1997
65 Not printed. Back
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