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THE use of WhatsApp to lobby ministers should be subject to the same transparency rules as face-to-face meetings, a panel of MPs said today.
And if new transparency measures do not “command public confidence,” then such messaging systems should be blocked on official devices, added the Commons committee for administration and constitutional affairs.
Informal lobbying has become a growing concern since the Greensill scandal, which involved Lord Cameron, then a private citizen and now Foreign Secretary, pressing ministers and officials to help the firm then employing him.
In its report, the cross-party panel said: “If WhatsApp and other non-corporate communication channels [NCCCs] are to be used in government and, in particular, if they are to be used to communicate with third parties, then they should be subject to the same disclosure regime as other forms of contact.
“If an appropriate transparency regime cannot be found that can command public confidence, which we consider the current arrangements do not, the use of any NCCCs should be blocked on official devices.”
