Pressure is mounting on the Labor Party to sack John Woodcock as the government’s adviser on extremism after civil society activists lodged official complaints alleging multiple conflicts of interest.
Good Regulation Undertaking and Compassion in Politics sent the Lords standards commissioner a dossier of evidence which they claim “shows [Woodcock] has a business interest in organizations whose clients have been attacked by the very protesters whose activities it seeks to ban.”
Woodcock, a former Labor MP, was ennobled as Lord Walney by Boris Johnson in 2020. The following year, the Conservative government appointed him an independent adviser on political violence and extremism and commissioned him to write a report on the protests.
Among the 41 recommendations in its report prepared earlier this year, it called for the effective banning of some direct action groups, including climate civil disobedience campaign Simply Cease Oil and the Palestine Movement, whose direct action protests target companies that make weapons for Israel.
In simultaneous letters to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Inside Minister Yvette Cooper, campaigners called for Woodcock’s dismissal, saying: “Members of the House of Lords and government advisers must not only act impartially but They must also give the impression that they are acting impartially. “We believe that Lord Walney has failed this test and we ask that you intervene now to terminate his appointment.”
The letters come in a week in which pressure on Woodcock has increased. On Tuesday, Byline Instances reported that he had already left his advisory position, a claim the Inside Ministry denied and later retracted. The next morning, the Instances reported that its position was under review. On Thursday, Green MP Carla Denyer referenced Woodcock in the Commons when she called for a debate on “when a government adviser is formally described as independent”.
The dossier attached to the three letters details how, while preparing his report, Woodcock took over as chairman of the Function Enterprise Coalition, whose members included arms manufacturer Leonardo and oil company BP, as well as the Function Protection Coalition, which also had Leonardo as a member.
The two agencies are subsidiaries of the broader Function Coalition, a project of Crowne Associates, which calls itself “a cutting-edge communications and strategy agency” and is listed with the Office of the Registrar of Consulting Lobbyists.
In January, four months before the publication of Woodcock’s report, Rud Pedersen Group, another publicly traded foyer company, announced its hiring as a “senior advisor.” Rud Pedersen counts oil and gas companies Glencore and Enwell Vitality among its clients, and on its website includes “security and defense” as a sector of specialization.
Woodcock’s roles in the Function Enterprise Coalition and Rud Pedersen Group were listed in his entry in the Lords’ register of interests, but his role in the Function Protection Coalition was not, the file says.
The dossier also refers to Woodcock’s connections to Israel, including his chairmanship of the Friends of Israel Labor group and three expenses-paid trips to the country. Woodcock has been a staunch critic of the Palestinian protests that have taken place in the UK over the past year since Israel began its latest war against Gaza.
Good Regulation Undertaking campaign director Hannah Greer and Compassion in Politics co-director Jennifer Nadel are co-signers of the letters sent Thursday. Nadel said: “It is not just Walney’s lack of independence that needs to be addressed, but also the hostile climate it has created. He has also used his position to undermine a basic principle of British democracy: the right to peaceful protest. Their attempts to brand climate and pro-Palestine campaigners as extremists have legitimized a sentencing culture that has seen some peaceful protesters jailed for longer sentences than violent rioters.”
Greer said: “Lord Walney’s influential position as an independent government adviser has been completely compromised by his conflicts of interest. “The current review of his appointment is the perfect opportunity for the Ministry of Inside to act on the evidence we have provided.”
Woodcock previously told The Guardian that he applied an “objective standard” while preparing his report. Responding to the latest criticism, he said: “Extremist protest groups and their sympathizers are waging a concerted campaign to remove me because they oppose my proposals to restrict criminal harm and serious disruption in the name of progressive causes and measures to address antisemitism in the marches.
“My conclusions as an independent adviser to the government were meticulously researched, objectively reached and all my interests are duly declared.”
