Conclusion
22. I examine in turn the two aspects of Mr Adams's
complaint, as set out in paragraph 1. First, Mr Adams complained
that Mr Campbell had not registered his interests as a Member
of the Northern Ireland Assembly and of Derry City Council from
the time he entered the House in 2001 until 13 March 2007. As
my account of the position in paragraphs 7-9 (which has not been
disputed by Mr Campbell) shows, both of these were registrable
interests. In fact Mr Campbell did register his membership of
the City Council in 2001 and his membership of the Assembly almost
a year later. However the entries were not continued between his
re-election in 2005 and March 2007.
23. I conclude that Mr Campbell is correct in saying
that the complaint by Mr Adams cannot be upheld in the form in
which Mr Adams made it. However, it is clear that Mr Campbell
has failed to meet his obligations consistently in respect of
registration under the Code. Specifically:
i) He did not register his membership of the
Northern Ireland Assembly on first entering the House in 2001,
as he should have done. The interest was not registered until
9 July 2002, well past the three month deadline in paragraph 11
of the Guide to the Rules;
ii) He failed to re-register both his Assembly
and City Council memberships when re-elected in 2005 and did not
notify my office of them until March of this year, a period of
some 19 months after the relevant deadline.
24. Mr Campbell argues that because Mr Adams's complaint
cannot be upheld in the terms in which Mr Adams has stated it,
the matter should end there. I disagree. Mr Adams's complaint
as such cannot be upheld on the facts, but my investigation of
it has exposed a failure by Mr Campbell to comply with his obligations
as regards registration of interests under the Code. I find
that Mr Campbell has breached those obligations, in the two respects
listed in the preceding paragraph.
25. The second part of Mr Adams's complaint alleges
that Mr Campbell failed to declare his relevant interest as a
councillor at the meetings of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
on 29 November and 7 December 2005. As I have described in paragraphs
10-12, there is no formal record of Mr Campbell having declared
his interest on these two occasions, or indeed when he first joined
the Committee in 2004 or when he was re-appointed to it in 2005.
Mr Campbell appears to argue in his letter of 22 May[14]
that there was no need for him to declare his interest, as the
meetings referred to by the complainant did not constitute an
investigation. However, in relation to declaration, the Guide
does not distinguish between different types of Committee activity.
Nor does the fact that Mr Campbell's role as a councillor was
well known excuse him from the obligation to declare it in relevant
proceedings in the House, particularly on an occasion when witnesses
were present.
26. I therefore recommend that the second part
of Mr Adams's complaint be upheld. I also find that Mr Campbell
breached his obligations under the Code to declare relevant interests
when he became a member of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
in 2004, and again in 2005.
27. Had Mr Campbell been willing to acknowledge and
apologise for the several respects in which his conduct has fallen
short of his obligations as a Member, I should have been prepared
to consider dealing with the consequences under the 'rectification
procedure'.[15] Since
Mr Campbell has failed to do either, I make this formal report
to the Committee, in order that it may take such action as it
sees fit.
5 July Sir Philip Mawer
3 
