The Conduct of Lord Moonie, Lord Snape, Lord Truscott and Lord Taylor of Blackburn

Book excerpt: This report from the Committee for Privileges looks at the conduct of Lord Moonie, Lord Snape, Lord Truscott and Lord Taylor of Blackburn. The background to this report was a set of allegations, made in the The Sunday Times on 25 January 2009, stating that the peers had been willing to engage in paid advocacy. The Sub-Committee on Lords' Interests has reported on the conduct of the peers, reaching the conclusion that three of the four members - Lords Snape, Truscott and Taylor - had breached the Code of Conduct. The main Committee, in this report, has examined the Sub-Committee's findings for each of the peers, along with three appeals from Lords Snape, Truscott and Taylor and a personal statement by one of the peers to the Committee. The Committee followed procedures as laid out by an earlier report (The Code of Conduct: Procedure for Considering Complaints Against Members (HL 205), ISBN 9780104014042). The Committee sets out a summary of co