BREAKING: Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm under investigation
Lobbying watchdog investigating Global Counsel in the wake of Democracy for Sale revelations
Britain’s lobbying regulator has launched an investigation into Peter Mandelson’s consulting firm Global Counsel, Democracy for Sale can reveal.
The Office of the Registrar for Consultant Lobbyists confirmed that it is investigating Global Counsel “in relation to potentially inaccurate quarterly information returns.”
The investigation comes after this newsletter last month revealed that Global Counsel had lobbied UK government ministers on behalf of the state-backed Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA).
Global Counsel lobbied for UK free ports to be “twinned” with Gulf free trade zones and arranged meetings in London between a government minister and top Qatari officials - but there was no record of QFZA being listed as a Global Counsel client.
Campaigners at Spotlight on Corruption wrote to the lobbying regulator last week asking the watchdog to investigate whether Global Counsel broke the rules by failing to register lobbying on behalf of Qatar. The anti-corruption group has also called for reform of British lobbying laws to prevent foreign interference in UK politics.
Spotlight on Corruption’s senior legal researcher, George Havenhand, welcomed the investigation: "Serious questions remain unanswered, like why this lobbying operation was not publicly recorded on the register and whether that’s a consequence of fundamental defects in our system for lobbying transparency. This investigation should shed much-needed light on what happened and may bring into focus reforms needed to improve the system."
Global Counsel was co-founded by former New Labour impresario Peter Mandelson after he left office. The company advises on policy and regulatory matters worldwide. Previous Global Counsel clients include Nestle, Bank of America, Vodafone, and Peter Thiel’s Palantir, as well as now-sanctioned Russian oligarchs including Oleg Deripaska.
Mandelson is seen as close to Keir Starmer. Ahead of the general election, Global Counsel spent £36,000 seconding a staff member to the office of then shadow treasury minister Tulip Siddiq.
Currently, Mandelson is running for Chancellor at Oxford University. He stepped down from Global Counsel’s board in June but remains its president and holds a significant financial stake.
Critics have raised concerns about whether his political connections could give his firm more power in influencing government decisions.
Our investigation found that Global Counsel’s CEO, Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, held meetings with then Conservative investment minister Lord Johnson throughout early 2023 to talk about linking the UK’s freeports with Qatar's free trade zones.
Wegg-Prosser also arranged a meeting between Johnson and Qatari minister Ahmad Al Sayed in the House of Lords in June 2023. But there was no mention that QFZA was a Global Counsel client, and the lobbying was not recorded in the official lobbying register.
A Parliamentary report earlier this year recommended tightening up British lobbying laws to close a loophole that means lobbyists acting only for foreign clients don’t have to register as they are not VAT registered.
“[T]he exemption of foreign-based lobbyists (or those working only for foreign-based interests) from the Register is a significant omission in light of measures in the National Security Act designed to stop foreign powers from interfering in UK politics,” said Spotlight on Corruption’s letter, a copy of which is below this story.
There have been frequent calls to reform the Lobbying Act, which was introduced by David Cameron and is widely seen as not fit for purpose. The Act captures just 4% of lobbying, according to analysis by Transparency International UK.
Lobbying trade body, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, has called for tougher rules. So far, Keir Starmer and Labour have made some minor changes but have yet to put forward proposals for substantial reform.
Global Counsel has yet to respond to requests for comment on this story. A spokesperson for the lobbying registrar said it does not comment on ongoing investigations.
Democracy for Sale is dedicated to uncovering dark money and hidden influence in British politics.
Anyone surprised? He is the double fired Prince of Darkness after all.
Thanks. No doubt he will be awarded the highly lucrative position at Oxford. It seems these overpaid UK elite/Russell group college appointments are simply jobs for The Boys.
So tired of all this institutionalised corruption.