Viscount Monckton: House of Lords publicly knocks down one of his many false claims after Spencer interview in Australia & journalists do the rest

One could be forgiven for thinking that florid climate change denialist Christopher Monckton’s recent Australian speaking tour did not return value for money to his backers or give comfort to the anti-science views of Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott.

First Monckton was forced to publicly apologise for the fascist/Nazi slur thrown at one Australian economist before the start of his journey and now this………………

An open letter to Viscount Monckton of Brenchley from the Clerk of the Parliaments published at www.parliament.uk after Monckton’s ABC Sydney Breakfast with Adam Spencer radio interview on 7 July 2011:

Dear Lord Monckton

My predecessor, Sir Michael Pownall, wrote to you on 21 July 2010, and again on 30 July 2010, asking that you cease claiming to be a Member of the House of Lords, either directly or by implication. It has been drawn to my attention that you continue to make such claims.

In particular, I have listened to your recent interview with Mr Adam Spencer on Australian radio. In response to the direct question, whether or not you were a Member of the House of Lords, you said "Yes, but without the right to sit or vote". You later repeated, "I am a Member of the House".

I must repeat my predecessor's statement that you are not and have never been a Member of the House of Lords. Your assertion that you are a Member, but without the right to sit or vote, is a contradiction in terms. No-one denies that you are, by virtue of your letters Patent, a Peer. That is an entirely separate issue to membership of the House. This is borne out by the recent judgment in Baron Mereworth v Ministry of Justice (Crown Office) where Mr Justice Lewison stated:

"In my judgment, the reference [in the House of Lords Act 1999] to 'a member of the House of Lords' is simply a reference to the right to sit and vote in that House ... In a nutshell, membership of the House of Lords means the right to sit and vote in that House. It does not mean entitlement to the dignity of a peerage."

I must therefore again ask that you desist from claiming to be a Member of the House of Lords, either directly or by implication, and also that you desist from claiming to be a Member "without the right to sit or vote".

I am publishing this letter on the parliamentary website so that anybody who wishes to check whether you are a Member of the House of Lords can view this official confirmation that you are not.

David Beamish
Clerk of the Parliaments

15 July 2011

Monckton publicly and somewhat pathetically hit back during the televised National Press Club Address on 19 July, when a journalist raised the issue of the open letter, with a classic piece of misdirection along the lines of 'my passport says I'm a peer and because I'm a peer I must be a member of the House of Lords' or words to that effect.

In answer to a question from another journalist concerning his so-called expert status, Monckton also stated that he had a peer reviewed scientific paper in the APS Physics Journal titled Climate Sensitivity Reconsidered By Christopher Monckton of Brenchley.

Predictably, the American Physical Society has a very different perspective:

Climate Sensitivity Reconsidered

The following article has not undergone any scientific peer review, since that is not normal procedure for American Physical Society newsletters. The American Physical Society reaffirms the following position on climate change, adopted by its governing body, the APS Council, on November 18, 2007: "Emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are changing the atmosphere in ways that affect the Earth's climate." [my emphasis]