By Catherine Baksi2021-04-22T14:57:00+01:00
London could lose its reputation as a world-class centre for legal services , lawyer peers have warned, as stricter rules requiring Lords to disclose payments from foreign governments were introduced.
Some senior lawyers and former judge members have argued that the rule - which has no exemption for lawyers - would breach client confidentiality and harm the capital’s reputation as a leading arbitration centre.
The rule change comes as the House of Commons grapples with allegations of cronyism and inappropriate lobbying.
Labour’s former attorney general Lord Goldsmith, a partner in international firm Debevoise & Plimpton, said this week that he may be forced to take a leave of absence from the Lords because the rule would deter clients.
Lords reformers should be careful what they wish for
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Retiring: Lord Cavendish of Furness Picture: MILTON HAWORTH. A CUMBRIAN peer has retired from the House of Lords after choosing the final vote on the Brexit trade deal on Wednesday to make his farewell speech. Lord Cavendish of Furness had been a member of the Lords for 30 years, having been nominated by prime minister Margaret Thatcher in 1990. The life peer, who owns Holker Hall and its 17,000 acre estate, supported the Government’s trade deal, saying: “In campaigning to leave the European Union, I was guided by two overriding principles: first, to preserve and protect the very ancient settlement under which the people of these islands are governed by consent, and secondly, to defend this country from the horrors of unaccountable power. I believe the conduct of the EU’s institutions run counter to those principles and promise in future to diverge further still.”
31 Dec 2020
Two Conservative members of the House of Lords intervened in the Brexit treaty debate to express gratitude to a giant of the Eurosceptic movement Nigel Farage.
Lord Howard of Rising, who voted for Britain to leave the European Economic Community in 1975 and the European Union in 2016, used the short time allocated to him to interject during the Boris Johnson EU treaty reading in the upper house to give a vote of thanks to two influential Brexiteers, Sir James Goldsmith and Nigel Farage.
On a day where much focus was on Boris Johnson Prime Minister since 2019 Lord Howard spoke about the Brexit veterans who laid the groundwork for today’s divorce from the European Union 30 years ago, and the British people who voted for Brexit in 2016.
Retiring: Lord Cavendish of Furness Picture: MILTON HAWORTH. A CUMBRIAN peer has retired from the House of Lords after choosing the final vote on the Brexit trade deal on Wednesday to make his farewell speech. Lord Cavendish of Furness had been a member of the Lords for 30 years, having been nominated by prime minister Margaret Thatcher in 1990. The life peer, who owns Holker Hall and its 17,000 acre estate, supported the Government’s trade deal, saying: “In campaigning to leave the European Union, I was guided by two overriding principles: first, to preserve and protect the very ancient settlement under which the people of these islands are governed by consent, and secondly, to defend this country from the horrors of unaccountable power. I believe the conduct of the EU’s institutions run counter to those principles and promise in future to diverge further still.”
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