Boris Johnson’s former ethics adviser has apologised for breaching House of Lords rules by helping a US company influence Ministry of Defence officials.
Parliament’s standards watchdog said that Lord Geidt gave introductory remarks at a meeting in May 2021 between MoD officials and Theia Group.
At the time, he was employed as an adviser by the company, which specialises in satellites and aerospace. He was also the independent adviser on ministers’ interests, having been appointed by Johnson the previous month.
Geidt’s actions broke a ban on peers providing “parliamentary services” in return for payment, the Lords standards commissioner found after a three-month investigation.
The crossbench peer’s presence at the meeting counted as “assisting an outside organisation in influencing officials”, according to a report released
