A political consultancy that arranged meetings attended by Network Rail and senior Labour figures who are now in government was paid close to £1mn over four years by the rail operator, raising fresh questions about the adequacy of the UK’s rules banning public bodies from lobbying.
Between 2021 and 2025 Network Rail, which maintains the UK’s train tracks, paid Lexington £875,000 for services that included “stakeholder engagement” and “communications” advice, according to a freedom of information request submitted by the Financial Times.
While the rail operator was a client, Lexington also arranged policy roundtables attended by senior Labour politicians, including Pat McFadden, before they entered government, two people familiar with the events said.
Network Rail executives attended the roundtables, which also featured executives from other businesses and sectors, the people added.
State-owned organisations such as Network Rail are prohibited from using public funds to pay lobbyists to directly influence “parliament, government, or political parties”, though they are allowed to pay consultancies for other services, such as giving strategic advice or “stakeholder engagement”.
Network Rail said all of its actions were within the current rules and that it had not engaged in lobbying.
Transparency campaigners have criticised the UK’s lobbying disclosure regime, while the Labour MP who leads parliament’s anti-corruption group said current rules that mean some meetings are not publicly recorded were “no longer fit for purpose”.
Rose Whiffen at Transparency International said it was “unusual to see a public body hiring the services of a consultant lobbyist”.
She added: “Public bodies should be scrupulous in what they choose to spend public money on, ensuring value for the taxpayer.”
Network Rail said: “We have never lobbied or used an agency for lobbying and are, and always have been, fully compliant with Cabinet Office rules.”
It added: “Like many large organisations, we use a strategic external agency to support our work. In this case, our agency specifically supports our duties as a public body and nothing further.”
Lexington did not respond to a request for comment. The agency was founded by former Labour advisers and maintains close ties to the party, claiming on its website it “can help clients shape their Labour tomorrow”.
Former employees include Ben Nunn, who is now director of communications for chancellor Rachel Reeves. Nunn worked at Lexington between October 2021 and July 2023 after leaving a previous role with Sir Keir Starmer, who was leader of the opposition at the time.
In 2022 Lexington arranged a policy roundtable with then-shadow chancellor Reeves for a range of industry groups including those from the financial services and housing sectors. Her then-deputy McFadden, who is now Cabinet Office minister, stood in for her at the last minute, according to people familiar with the matter.
Network Rail chief financial officer Jeremy Westlake attended the roundtable. Mike Craven, Lexington’s chair, was also present.
Network Rail said it did not class roundtable policy events as meetings, and said: “We have never asked any external agencies to set up or attend political meetings with us.”
The company added it had not paid to attend the roundtable, which it stressed was advertised publicly and was available to a number of businesses including non-Lexington clients.
Susan Hawley, executive director of Spotlight on Corruption, said that while Network Rail had “legitimate” reasons to engage with ministers and shadow ministers, “the idea that a roundtable organised by a lobbying agency to discuss policy is not lobbying is ludicrous”.
The Cabinet Office, which sets lobbying rules for public bodies, and the Department for Transport, which oversees Network Rail, both declined to comment.
Under the current rules, registered lobbyists in England are required to disclose their clients to the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists (ORCL) when they have met with ministers or the most senior civil servants while acting specifically on behalf of those clients.
However, they are not required to disclose meetings with aides, junior civil servants, MPs or shadow ministers even if they are on behalf of clients. Transparency experts who want to see rules tightened say that countries such as Canada and Scotland have stricter controls.
Lexington has never reported Network Rail as a client to ORCL, filings to the body show. The roundtable was also never disclosed in any transparency registers. The lack of disclosure falls within the rules.
Some politicians are pushing for greater disclosure 10 years after the lobbying registrar came into force in 2015 following legislation passed the previous year.
Labour MP Joe Powell, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax, said that UK lobbying rules were “no longer fit for purpose” and were “failing to deliver what they were designed to do.”
He added: “We need a system that supports fair and transparent decision-making and levels the playing field . . . by reviewing the rules, ensuring all relevant contracts and meetings are declared, and giving the public access to vital information about how public policy is made.”
