A Labour peer with close ties to Sir Keir Starmer has come under investigation after writing to the Treasury on behalf of a cryptocurrency firm where he served as a strategic adviser, raising potential conflicts of interest in regulatory engagement.

According to reporting from the Guardian, Lord Iain McNicol, who previously served as the Labour party's general secretary, wrote to the Treasury in June 2023 regarding a consultation on cryptocurrency regulation, representing Astra Protocol, a Dubai- and Zurich-based technology startup.

The firm, which launched a cryptocurrency token that has since dramatically declined 99.7 per cent in value, employed McNicol as an adviser. In his submission, McNicol positioned Astra Protocol as having a uniquely qualified team with "extensive experience in crypto" and cautioned against regulatory approaches that might "stifle innovation".

House of Lords regulations explicitly prohibit peers from providing parliamentary services to organisations paying them. The rules state members may not "assist outside organisations or persons in influencing members of either house, ministers or officials" in exchange for payment.

McNicol's spokesperson defended the action, telling the newspaper that the consultation response was "emailed to public enquiries at the Treasury" and was "one of over 130 to the public consultation". They emphasised that McNicol made his advisory role transparent and that his "paid advisory work for Astra ceased at the end of September 2023".

Notably, McNicol continued to maintain an advisory role with Astra Enterprise (the rebranded company) even after leaving the role, and spoke at a British Blockchain Association conference about financial technology while on Starmer's frontbench.

The cryptocurrency firm, which boasts an advisory board including a former EU commissioner and a former White House chief of staff, marketed itself as a fintech startup focused on regulatory compliance tools.

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