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The Lords’ standards commissioner has been asked to investigate a Conservative peer over his undeclared investment in a defence firm.
Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts owns a stake in BAE Systems worth more than £28,000, a Tortoise investigation revealed last week.
He has been a member of the House of Lords since 2000 and has held the shareholding since 2009.
Peers are required to register shareholdings only if their stake exceeds £100,000 in value or they hold a controlling share in a company.
However they are expected to declare any interest that might “reasonably be thought relevant” to proceedings.
In recent years Hodgson has joined debates on topics including the use of drones, as well as the National Security Bill – to which he tried to bring forward an amendment aimed at giving greater clarity to investors in the arms sector.
Lord Hodgson has also been a member of three defence-related all-party parliamentary groups including one on modern conflict, which regularly publishes reports on elements of the UK’s military capabilities.
In a letter to the standards commissioner for the House of Lords, Tom Brake, director of campaign group Unlock Democracy, said: “We consider this level of shareholding to be significant enough for it to be necessary for him to declare an interest when speaking in debates relating to defence matters. I would argue that from a public perspective, shareholdings of over £10,000 might reasonably be thought to influence a member’s actions or words.”
Brake also requested a ruling “of general applicability” to determine at what level of shareholding members of the House of Lords should declare an interest.
Brake highlighted a case involving David Duguid, a former Conservative MP who the Commons commissioner ruled should have declared an interest because his wife held £50,000 of shares in BP – a figure that was also below the threshold for registration.
Hodgson did not respond to requests for a comment. Parliamentary authorities are now considering whether to look into the matter.
