Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards (the
Commissioner)
The House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
Dear Parliamentary Commissioner for
Standards (the Commissioner),
Subject: Complaint against Neil
Carmichael MP
Neil Carmichael has steadfastly refused to respond to
emails and correspondence I have sent him on matters of supreme importance to the
future of this nation and the global community. In doing so he is violating the
following clauses of the “Code of Conduct and Guide to the Rules relating to the Conduct ofMPs”
The breaches of specific clauses are outlined
below:
Clause III. Public
Duties of Members
6. Members have a
general duty to act in the interests of the nation as a whole; and a special
duty to their constituents.
Breach 1
I have asked that he
raise the question in parliament of the carbon budget associated with the
decision to proceed with Trident. At
present the government is working towards the "Low Carbon Transition
Plan" which was issued in the last parliament. A key commitment of
this was "that all major decisions
would be subject to a carbon audit." This position has been echoed in other
documents and position statements of this administration.
The decision that we
take on our nuclear deterrence is the most major decision of all. Its construction,
operation, defense and our subsequent response to adversary nations who are
forced to respond in kind requires massive military industrial complexes that
are energy hungry and require expanding economies to fund. As well as having enormous implications for
this country, it forces our competitor nations to reciprocate and makes a
dangerous situation on climate change much worse.
I had previously written
to the Department of Energy and Climate Change on this topic, copying the
correspondence to Neil Carmichael, requesting that they commit to preparing a
carbon budget for Trident and incorporate Trident with climate change talks.
They refused. This makes a mockery of all statements and positions that the
government takes on climate change. It is hard to see how any meaningful
progress towards international climate change agreements can be made without
honest debate on the carbon budget of those items that preserve the existing
status-quo of the power structures and nation state competition.
It is therefore of
supreme importance that this is raised proactively in parliament and debated
thoroughly.
Following the lack of
response from DECC, I asked Neil Carmichael to raise this question in
parliament. He has not done so, nor even replied to my correspondence.
By willfully ignoring my
correspondence he is supporting the status quo position that the Trident
decision should be made independently of its climate change impact. That status
quo position is leading us towards ecological breakdown, which is against the
interests of the nation. Neil Carmichael is therefore failing in his duty “to act in the interests of the nation as a
whole.”
Breach 2
Following a peaceful
protest at the Fairford Air Tattoo in 2010, when I hosted a spoof website to
protest at the climate change impact of the military industrial complex, I was
subjected to an early morning raid on my house, arrested for fraud and had my
job threatened. I remained on police bail for 18 months, at which point all
proceeding were dropped without charges even being made and without apology.
This was a blatant and
crude attempt to muzzle dissent and impose a de-facto restraining order. A
state response of this type is normally associated with the odious dictators
that we profess to abhor, and which we build our military to protect ourselves
again.
I arranged a meeting
with Neil Carmichael in his constituency surgery to raise the issue. He agreed
to raise the issue further with the Chief Constable and advise accordingly of
the response. He did nothing, and I had no further response from him.
This is a clear case of
Neil Carmichael failing in his “special
duty to [his] constituent” whose right to free speech and peaceful protest
was denied by the apparatus of the state acting in the interests of large
corporate interests.
Breach 3
I along with some
mathematics colleagues analysed the claims climate change claims of the
aviation. Their claims were (1) The industry
is committed to improving fuel efficiency of new planes by 50% by 2020 and
(2) the industry is committed to getting
emissions down to 2000 levels by 2050 despite a trebling of air passengers.
Basic maths and engineering demonstrates conclusively these
claims are impossible. Yet they were peddled consistently by the now defunct
lobby group Flying Matters on behalf of the aviation industry. Similar false
claims continue to be used by others and have had a significant impact on
government policy and public attitudes to aviation. False claims of this nature
are supported by combined marketing budgets measured in the billions. This is fraud, which by definition is the use
of false information to seek gain.
This evidence was presented to Neil Carmichael. We asked
that he raise in parliament the issue of fraudulent advertising on the
environmental credentials of the aviation industry.
He took no action on this. On the contrary, he continued to
raise questions in parliament in support of aviation.
By not raising this issue he is failing to “act in the interests of the nation as a whole” as the nation must have
correct information on the climate change impact of large corporations and public debate needs to be held to
determine how they can be prevented from abusing their power.
Leadership
Holders of public office should promote and support
these principles by leadership and example.
Breach 1
We note that Neil
Carmichael is a member of the Environmental Audit Committee. Despite this he
publically supports the construction of the Trident replacement system and been
an advocate for high carbon industries such as aviation.
In no way can this be
called leadership by example.
By contrast, his actions
are a classic case where people with a diametrically opposed position to the
objectives of a group gain a position of influence to subvert its good
intention.
9. Members shall base their conduct on a consideration
of the public interest, avoid conflict between personal interest and the public
interest and resolve any conflict between the two, at once, and in favour of
the public interest.
Breach 1
Neil Carmichael has made
it clear he has a personal interest in high carbon industries such as aviation.
He has written in the local press on his reflections on holidays in Morocco and
Turkey, all of which involve flying. By contrast his predecessor, David Drew,
refused to fly on environmental grounds.
His inaction to follow
up any request I have made of him on the environmental impact of aviation
contrasts with his evident personal interest in allowing aviation’s continued
destructive growth.
Sincerely,
Kevin
Lister BSc (aero eng), MBA
cc: Neil Carmichael MP
38-39 Palace
Chambers
London Road
Stroud
Gloucestershire
GL5 2AJ
