Lobbying chief urges firms not to work with unregistered agencies
The boss of the lobbying sector’s industry body has urged public affairs chiefs to stop working with agencies that have not signed up to its code of conduct, after several blue-chip companies were forced to sever ties with Peter Mandelson’s lobby firm, Global Counsel.
In a draft letter seen by CityAM, PRCA chief Sarah Waddington warned UK firms against using non-members for lobbying and public affairs, saying the group’s charter “provides an uncompromising framework” for ethical lobbying.
“At a time when public confidence matters more than ever, we encourage you to make sure that your consultancies are meeting the highest ethical standards with using PRCA agencies,” she wrote.
The intervention, which Waddington is expected to send to public affairs bosses at every major company in Britain on Tuesday, comes after emails released by the US Department of Justice revealed the ties between Peter Mandelson’s Global Counsel and Jeffrey Epstein.
The political advisory, founded in 2010 by Mandelson and former Labour party spin doctor Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, has been rocked by emails revealing the extent of links between Mandelson, Epstein and Global Counsel.
Correspondence between the pair showed Mandelson regularly sought Epstein’s help and advice when the company was in its infancy and after Epstein had been convicted of soliciting child prostitution. But they also revealed several connections between Wegg-Prosser and Epstein, including a visit the Global Counsel chief executive made to the financier’s New York flat when he was under house arrest.
Since emails were first unearthed by CityAM, several blue-chip clients – including Barclays and GSK – have severed ties with the agency. On Friday, Wegg-Prosser stood down as chief executive, to be replaced by Rebecca Park in an internal appointment.
PRCA chief: Lobbying plays ‘vital role’ in democracy
The fiasco has sparked a wider discussion about ethical standards in the lobbying industry, after it emerged Global Counsel was not a member of the PRCA. Under its code of conduct, which contains several steps to make the clandestine industry more transparent, peers are prohibited from engaging in lobbying.
“Lobbying plays a vital role in the democratic process when carried out properly,” Waddington’s letter continues. “Transparency around who is lobbying strengthens public trust, supports better policymaking, and ensures decisions are taken in the open.”
Waddington’s remarks echo an earlier intervention from Gordon Brown, who called for an overhaul of lobbying legislation as part of a push to improve public standards. Speaking to the BBC’s Today programme, the former Prime Minister said: “This is an issue of trust, and trust once dented is difficult to recover, and that’s why we need a comprehensive set of actions on corruption, ethics, lobbying, and indeed on openness.”
Global Counsel no longer has any ties to Mandelson, after fully divesting his 21 per cent stake in the firm on Friday after a months-long battle. A person close to the consultancy’s new leadership said the firm was “actively reviewing its transparency measures” in the wake of the saga.