Inquiry into Iain McNicol is third to be launched after revelations in the Guardian’s Lords debate investigation

The former Labour party general secretary Iain McNicol is under investigation by the House of Lords standards watchdog after he wrote to the Treasury on behalf of a cryptocurrency company that was paying him.

The Lords commissioners for standards said they had launched an inquiry into Lord McNicol over potential breaches of the code of conduct, citing a clause that states members “must not seek to profit from membership of the house by accepting or agreeing to accept payment or other incentive or reward in return for providing parliamentary advice or services”.