George Havenhand
Senior Legal ResearcherAbout
George Havenhand is a UK-qualified solicitor and investigative researcher. After working as a litigator at a London-based firm, he joined legal action charity Reprieve to focus on the death penalty, drug policy, fair trial standards and British complicity in human rights abuses overseas. George held previous roles at the Charity Commission, NHS and Cafcass, and as chair of a mental health charity.
Posts by George Havenhand
-
The UK’s framework for regulating ethical standards in government is not working. It’s time for an independent Ethics Commission.
12 February, 2021George Havenhand
Introduction The UK’s approach to regulating ethical standards in government is in dire need of reform. The patchwork of regulatory bodies has developed in response to scandals rather than as...
Read More -
Briefing: Is the government getting serious about conflicts of interest?
2 June, 2021Dr Daniel Beizsley
George Havenhand
In light of the depth of concern at the government’s handling of conflict of interest issues, the new procurement policy note represents a useful clarification of the existing rules and policy frameworks. Disappointingly, it only introduces minor changes that fall far short of what is needed to fix what is clearly a broken system.
Read More -
Tribunal’s Covid loan scheme ruling should not let the government off the hook
10 January, 2023George Havenhand
Between March 2020 and March 2021, the government backed £80 billion in loans to help 1.6 million British businesses survive the pandemic. These loans provided crucial support but were designed...
Read More -
A “modest step in the right direction”– Peers accept amendment requiring UK political parties to identify and manage risks of donations from foreign powers
2 March, 2023George Havenhand
Members of the House of Lords last night took a small but significant step towards tackling the immense harm caused by foreign influence over the UK’s political system, with 207...
Read More -
Time for a ‘Know Your Donor’ policy
10 May, 2023George Havenhand
Dr Daniel Beizsley
Donations to political parties are essential to the functioning of our political process under the current system, but after a series of scandals and warnings from independent review bodies and...
Read More -
Briefing: Safeguarding the UK’s Electoral System from Foreign Interference
20 June, 2023George Havenhand
James Bolton-Jones
In March, the House of Lords passed an amendment to the National Security Bill to require UK political parties to identify and manage the risks of donations from foreign powers....
Read More -
Briefing: Urgent reforms needed to safeguard the UK’s electoral integrity
14 December, 2023George Havenhand
This briefing looks at recent Government measures in relation to electoral integrity, the issues that need to be tackled to ensure the integrity of the next election and at the...
Read More -
Briefing: Tackling serious fraud and corruption against the government
5 January, 2024George Havenhand
This research provides an overview of the rules that the UK’s key allies (the United States, Canada and Australia) have to tackle fraud against the government in their jurisdictions and...
Read More -
Briefing: How Australia has tackled its public ethics crisis
8 May, 2024George Havenhand
Political integrity crises are not unique to the UK. Over the past decade, Australia has faced its own issues, dropping in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index by over 10...
Read More -
Letter from the National Crime Agency highlights problems with the UK’s political finance enforcement regime
6 June, 2024George Havenhand
Spotlight on Corruption is today publishing the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) response to our letter, in which we called for the agency to coordinate the UK’s response to serious breaches...
Read More -
Clear as mud: The UK’s lobbying transparency deficit
29 November, 2024Dr Susan Hawley
George Havenhand
James Bolton-Jones
Last night the government’s latest departmental lobbying transparency data dropped – two months late. So late in fact that the content is primarily of historical interest: the data relates to...
Read More -
Open justice: Spotlight wins right to publish documents from major UK corruption trial
17 December, 2024George Havenhand
Today, in an important ruling with wider implications for open justice, Spotlight on Corruption won the right to publish the transcripts and Court documents from a criminal trial that highlighted...
Read More -
New Bill aims to restore public trust in our politics and fix the UK’s broken system of ethics regulation
23 January, 2025George Havenhand
Yesterday the House of Lords saw the first reading of a crucial Private Members’ Bill* which would significantly improve ethics regulation in government. The Public Service (Ethics, Integrity and Independence)...
Read More -
The VAT exemption: a key weakness in the system for lobbying transparency that risks foreign influence over UK politics
26 February, 2025George Havenhand
The UK’s lobbying body, the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists (ORCL), has found that a Qatar-based lobbying firm did not need to declare its lobbying of a UK...
Read More
