Lobbyists pour £700,000 into cross-party parliamentary groups

Despite new transparency rules, fossil fuel firms, vaping companies and other private interests are still bankrolling All-Party Parliamentary Groups

By Peter Geoghegan and Russell Scott

In theory, all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) are a great idea. MPs and members of the House of Lords coming together informally, bringing in experts, stakeholders and the public to focus on a specific issue, whether that’s Grenfell-style cladding or child poverty. 

In practice, APPGs have often been a backdoor for…