ClwstwrMP's work in Caribbean opens up second jobs controversy

• Sir Geoffrey Cox is the MP for Torridge and West Devon, but has continued to work as a lawyer.
• He has earned almost £900,000 a year for this second job. That in itself is not against the rules, as all the legal work he did was registered in the register of MPs’ interests
• MPs are not allowed to us their parliamentary offices for private work or to “confer any undue personal or financial benefit on themselves”.
• The video from September apparently shows Sir Geoffrey using his MP’s office to attend a remote inquiry of the British Virgin Islands’ inquiry into alleged corruption. If proven, that would be against the rules.
• Labour has asked the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to investigate Sir Geoffrey

The case of Sir Geoffrey follows that of fellow Conservative MP Owen Paterson, who broke parliamentary rules by trying to influence the government on behalf of companies who were paying him. Paterson also used his MP’s office for business meetings.

The register of MPs’ financial interests shows that 32 MPs are paid for consultancy work. This group of mostly Conservative MPs has earned just over £1.4m a year in salaries and one-off payments from a range of companies.

These MPs are spending up to 288 hours (around 8 working weeks) on consultancy work.

Constituents of the MPs doing most hours on second jobs may feel that their MP should be spending more time serving the needs of people in their area. Sir Geoffrey Cox is MP for Torridge and West Devon. Steve Brine (who was paid £58,392 for 288 hours of consultancy work) is the MP for Winchester and Chandler’s Ford. Mark Garnier (who was paid £90,000 for 240 hours of consultancy work) is MP for Wyre Forest.

Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner says Sir Geoffrey appears to be in "brazen breach of the rules".

Boris Johnson's spokesman said MPs should be "visible" to constituents. "The prime minister is clear that MPs' jobs must be to serve the constituents they represent in their interest in Parliament," the PM's spokesman said.

Sir Geoffrey has not said anything about the affair so far, despite being asked for his reaction.

In Sir Geoffrey’s case, we don’t know exactly how long he spent in the British Virgin Islands, or how that aligned with coronavirus restrictions at the time.

There are concerns, particularly after the case of Owen Paterson, as to how much having second jobs can tip over into lobbying - trying to influence the government on behalf of the people who pay MPs for their consultancy services.