Download or read book House of Lords - Committee for Privileges and Conduct: The Conduct of Lord Laird - HL 96 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: Committee for Privileges and Conduct and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-12-16 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report arose out of a request by Lord Laird that the Commissioner for Standards should investigate his conduct in connection with two separate sets of allegations. The first arose from the Sunday Times articles in which undercover journalists purported to act for consultants working on behalf of a South Korean solar energy investor. The second set of allegations arose from a BBC Panorama programme in which undercover reporters purported to act on behalf of a group called the Society of Friends of Fiji. The Commissioner found that Lord Laird breached the Code of Conduct in three respects. First, that Lord Laird attempted to negotiate an agreement with the undercover Sunday Times journalists which would have involved him in helping to create an all-party group at the behest of the consultants in return for payment or other reward; secondly, that Lord Laird attempted to negotiate an agreement with the undercover Sunday Times journalists which would have involved him providing parliamentary services in return for payment or other reward; thirdly, that Lord Laird attempted to negotiate an agreement with the undercover Panorama reporters which would have involved him helping to create an all-party group at the behest of the client in return for payment or other reward. The Sub-Committee on Lords' Conduct recommended that Lord Laird be suspended from the service of the House for four months. Lord Laird appealed. The Committee affirmed the Commissioner's findings and confirm the recommended sanction of four months' suspension