The Times - UK (2021-12-22)

18 Wednesday December 22 2021 | the times

News

CONNIE ALLEN

A senior Conservative MP who lobbied

parliament about medical cannabis

failed to declare his chairmanship of a

distribution company for the drug, The

Times can reveal.

Elite Growth announced that Adam

Afriyie, the MP for Windsor, would

take on the role on October 22.

However, no record of his involve-

ment with the company has been

disclosed on the Register of Members’

Financial Interests in the last four of its

editions for November 1, 15 and 29, or

most recently for December 13.

This absence raises questions as to

whether he may have broken Com-

mons rules, which state a member must

notify within 28 days any change in

their registrable interests if they

consider “that it might reasonably be

thought by others to influence his or

her actions or words as a member in the

same way as a financial interest”.

A source close to Afriyie said the role

was unpaid and the MP approached the

register regarding the position on

November 10 and followed this up after

inquiries from this newspaper.

Afriyie was reprimanded by the

Parliamentary Commissioner for Stan-

dards last year. In 2019 it emerged

he was letting his house in Wind-

sor on Airbnb for £2,000 a night

without declaring the income.

An investigation by the

commission ruled that Afriyie was

in breach of the code of conduct.

He apologised and revised his

register of interests.

Afriyie has spoken in

the Commons about the

benefits of medical can-

nabis, before and after

joining the company.

In a Westminster

Hall debate on Novem-

ber 3, 12 days after his

new role was an-

nounced, Afriye said

Tory MP failed

to declare his role

in drug company

that he had met the father of a girl who

“was literally in tears because his lovely

daughter has multiple fits daily”. He

raised the issue that a lack of qualified

medical staff meant “there is a real

danger that some of these children will

no longer have access to a drug that the

government intends [they should].”

However, Afriyie did not mention

that the girl’s father was Robin Emer-

son, a co-founder and director of the

firm that employed him, Elite Growth.

MPs are required to draw attention

“to registered or unregistered interests

on almost any occasion when someone

else might consider them to influence

what you say or do”.

Afriyie had already spoken regarding

this issue. On September 6, Afriyie ex-

pressed his frustration at an “impasse

we have here among the medical pro-

fession” on legal cannabis products.

He complained that because of this

“it will prove almost impossible to

introduce those products here even

though, based on the evidence we have,

they are perfectly safe”.

Afriyie faces losing his seat because

of a bankruptcy petition made against

him by HMRC for alleged unpaid taxes

of more than £1 million related to his

companies. Sitting MPs who are de-

clared bankrupt have to step aside if

a bankruptcy restrictions order is

made against them.

Afriyie, once tipped as a future

leader of the party, was elected

MP for Windsor in 2005. He voted

in favour of the amendment that

would have suspended punish-

ment for Owen Paterson’s

breaches of Commons

rules earlier this year.

Afriyie declined to

comment. Elite

Growth did not re-

spond to a request for

comment.

Emanuele Midolo, George Greenwood

Adam Afriyie was

tipped to be leader

there said that

elephants were a threat

to their safety.

The elephants were

divided into four age

groups: adolescents

aged ten to 15 years

and 16 to 20, adults

aged between 21 and 25

while those aged 26

and over were fully

mature.

When fewer of the

old bulls were present,

younger males were

more likely to behave

aggressively towards

vehicles, livestock and

other wild species.

Connie Allen, of

Exeter’s Centre for

Research in Animal

Behaviour, who led the

study, said: “It appears

the presence of more

knowledgeable, older

elephants may play a

key role in keeping the

younger, less

experienced

males calm,

which means

less risk of

aggression.

“Our

research draws

attention to what is

often a rather

overlooked area in

animal behaviour —

that of the complex

relationships and

connections between

males in non-breeding

all-male societies.”

The paper is

published in the

journal Proceedings of

the Royal Society B.

W

hen a mob

of teenage

males

threaten

to become rowdy it

often helps if a wiser,

older head intervenes

(Rhys Blakely writes).

British scientists on

the African savannah

say that this is just as

Old tuskers

keep young

bulls out of

harm’s way

true for elephants as it

is for humans.

Their research has

shown that old bull

tuskers help to steer

the younger males

away from delinquency

and violence. As a

consequence, people

who live near by are

likely to face less

danger.

“Old male bull

elephants are often

thought of as

redundant and are

targeted for trophy

hunting,” Darren

Croft, of Exeter

University, said.

“These new results

highlight the

important role that old

male elephants can

play in shaping the

behaviour of younger

males, which are more

aggressive — including

towards vehicles.”

The study tracked

281 male elephants

over three years in the

Makgadikgadi Pans

National Park in

Botswana. They spent

most of their time in

all-male groups. The

research was in an

area with the highest

reported rate of

conflict between

humans and wildlife in

the country. Seven out

of ten of the people

The elephant

study in

Botswana was

in an area of

high conflict

between

humans and

animals