Ex-ministers who break UK lobbying rules should be fined, says watchdog

No 10 should bring in new fines for ex-ministers who break the rules on lobbying in time for Rishi Sunak’s next reshuffle and tighten restrictions on former civil servants, the government watchdog has said.

Eric Pickles, the head of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), said it should be possible to draw up new rules in time for the autumn – a time when prime ministers typically shake up their top teams.

The Acoba chief…