A former Conservative minister has been reprimanded once again for breaching anti-corruption rules on post-government appointments.
Richard Harrington’s failure to seek advice on two roles following his departure as refugees minister almost three years ago was an “unambiguous breach” of the rules, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments has determined.
Harrington left his role as the minister for refugees jointly in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Home Office in September 2022, and was required to seek advice for any appointments or employment he took up within two years of leaving office under the government’s Business Appointments Rules.
He joined two companies within two years of his departure from government – law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP and property development company Regal Holdco Ltd – and failed to seek advice from Acoba for both of them.
The watchdog was alerted to the breaches after receiving a freedom of information request from a member of the public about his role at Stephenson Harwood LLP.
After receiving the FOI request, Acoba discovered Harrington had taken up the role at Stephenson Harwood LLP in March 2024 without seeking its advice, and that he had done the same for a position taken up at Regal Holdco in July 2024. Harrington provided the committee with evidence that a third appointment, at Cluster Partners Ltd, did not become active until September 2024, more than two years after he left government.
This is the second time Lord Harrington has been rapped for breaching the rules. In 2021, he fell foul of Acoba after trying but failing to submit the relevant forms to the watchdog before taking up a position at advisory and advocacy communications consultancy APCO Worldwide.
In a letter to Pat McFadden, the chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, Acoba interim chair Isabel Doverty said: “The purpose of the rules is to protect the integrity of government by considering the real and perceived risks associated with former ministers joining outside organisations. This has not been possible here.
“This is an unambiguous breach of the rules – particularly considering that Lord Harrington previously was informed of a breach of the rules for failing to seek advice in February 2021 and sought and received advice for two appointments in 2022, following a previous departure from government in 2019.”
Harrington apologised in a letter to the watchdog, saying he “miscalculated” the period in which he was required to notify Acoba of appointments.
He added: “The ministerial role I undertook in 2022 was a strictly limited project, concerning a subject on which I have had no professional interaction with prior or since that period. No paid employment I have commenced within two years of leaving ministerial office has been related to that role nor to government.”
However, Doverty said his “miscalculation” explanation was “surprising, given you previously sought and received advice for two appointments in 2022 – one appointment with Canaccord and another with Intelligent FS Ltd”.
Echoing concerns from her predecessor Eric Pickles, Doverty said Harrington’s breaches, “alongside those of others, raise the wider issue around the general lack of understanding of the rules and the inadequacies of the framework in which the rules operate”.
“As it stands, the process relies entirely on the cooperation of applicants in the absence of any sanctions or incentives to maintain compliance. This has risked undermining the integrity of the committee and the rules,” she said.
The government owns both the rules and their enforcement, and must decide on what action to take.