Labour Pontypridd MP Alex Davies-Jones apologises after breach of lobbying rules

A Labour MP has apologised after she committed a "minor and inadvertent" breach of lobbying rules.

Alex Davies-Jones asked a question in the House of Commons about the British Council the day after returning from a £3,000 trip to Japan funded by the organisation.

The Pontypridd MP brought up the trip in parliament, praising the council's "brilliant work" in "educating people in our English language and using our arts and culture for the greatest good".

She asked Foreign Office minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan: "What more can the Government do to support the British Council, not just in Japan, but across the world?"

The 33-year-old referred herself to the commissioner for investigation and said "this was an inadvertent breach, and one which I am extremely apologetic for".

MPs who receive a payment or other benefits such as hospitality or gifts must not use their position in Parliament to benefit the company that gave it to them.

The Commons Standards Committee recommended that the Shadow Culture Minister should face no further action after breaching the MPs' code of conduct rules on paid advocacy.

It said: "This was a minor and inadvertent breach of the code. Ms Davies-Jones has apologised to the Commissioner for breaching the rules."

The Committee noted that from March 1, visits funded by the British Council which promote British culture overseas would not need to be registered.

The report concluded: "In our view, Ms Davies-Jones would not have been in breach of the code had she taken the same course of action after March 1 2023. In view of this, we recommend no further action be taken."

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