According to ChainCatcher, Iain McNicol, the former General Secretary of the UK Labour Party and current member of the House of Lords, publicly apologized for violating parliamentary conduct rules. An investigation revealed that McNicol had sent a letter to the Treasury promoting the cryptocurrency company Astra Protocol in June 2023, while he was receiving a monthly consultancy fee from the company. The House of Lords Commissioner for Standards, Margaret Obi, determined that this constituted "providing paid parliamentary services," which violated the code of conduct for members of parliament.