Labour calls on anti-sleaze watchdog to investigate Sir Geoffrey Cox over mis-use of office claims
Labour has called on the government’s anti-sleaze watchdog to investigate a former Conservative cabinet minister, amid claims he mis-used his parliamentary office to carry out legal work.
The former attorney general has earned more than £800,000 for his work for law firm Withers, which is representing the British Virgin Islands government in a corruption case brought by the UK government.
According to The Times, Sir Geoffrey used his parliamentary office to undertake some of the work.
According to his register of interests, Sir Geoffrey did approximately 434 hours of work for Withers between January and July this year, at an average of more than 15 hours per week.
Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s deputy leader and shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster said: “This appears to be an egregious, brazen breach of the rules.
“A Conservative MP using a taxpayer-funded office in Parliament to work for a tax haven facing allegations of corruption is a slap in the face and an insult to British taxpayers.
“The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards must investigate this, and the prime minister needs to explain why he has an MP in his parliamentary party that treats Parliament like a co-working space allowing him to get on with all of his other jobs instead of representing his constituents.
“You can be an MP serving your constituents or a barrister working for a tax haven – you can’t be both and Boris Johnson needs to make his mind up as to which one Geoffrey Cox will be.”
The MPs code of conduct states any facilities “provided from the public purse” are used “always in support of their parliamentary duties”, adding: “It should not confer any undue financial benefit on themselves”.
This is one of the rules that Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone found that Owen Paterson broke before the Standards Committee recommended he be suspended from the House of Commons for 30 days.
Geoffrey Cox took advantage of the Commons allowing widespread proxy voting
Sir Geoffrey took part, by proxy, in Commons votes this year on the cladding scandal and on protecting the UK’s steel industry.
And, by taking advantage of the Commons allowing widespread proxy voting – introduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic – Sir Geoffrey was also able to appear at a corruption inquiry held in the British Virgin Islands, a British overseas territory, on the same day those votes were held.
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The revelation that Sir Geoffrey was voting remotely in the Commons while also taking part in lucrative legal work abroad comes amid a fresh focus on MPs’ second jobs following the Owen Paterson lobbying scandal.
Politics
Renters’ Reform Bill gets sign off from MPs – but indefinite delay to no-fault evictions ban remains
MPs have voted in favour of the government’s Renters’ Reform Bill – despite it including an indefinite delay to the end of no-fault evictions.
A debate on the legislation ran throughout Wednesday afternoon, including around a new clause from the government which would hold off outlawing Section 21s until a review of the courts system had taken place.
But despite outrage from charities, campaigners and opposition parties around the measure, it got the backing of the majority of MPs – and the bill passed its final stage in the Commons shortly after 6.30pm.
Politics live: Rayner labels Sunak ‘pint-sized loser’
A Section 21 notice is the legal mechanism allowing landlords to evict tenants without providing a reason, which creates uncertainty for those who rent their homes.
The government first promised to ban the notices five years ago, back when Theresa May was still in Number 10.
But it has faced numerous delays amid threats of rebellion from Tory backbenchers – some of them landlords – who said they feared ending Section 21s would see the courts overwhelmed with more complex eviction cases.
Ministers agreed to amend the bill to ensure no ban was enacted until a probe into the courts had been held.
But the clause offers no timeline – leaving no clear date for when Section 21s will actually be scrapped.
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Speaking during the debate, Levelling Up minister Jacob Young defended the government’s stance, saying to end no-fault evictions straight away would “cause chaos in the sector”, adding: “It is far better for tenants and landlords alike if we make sure this change happens in an orderly way.”
But Labour’s shadow housing minister Matthew Pennycook accused the government of lacking the “courage” to protect renters as they had promised.
“Instead of ministers having the courage to face down their unruly backbenchers, this weak and divided Conservative government is appeasing them at the expense of private renters who will see the rights and protections they were promised watered down,” he added.
Charities also condemned the continued delay to ending Section 21s, with Shelter’s chief executive Polly Neate saying the government had “led private renters down the garden path and dashed their best chance of a secure home”.
She added: “For every day the government has spent weakening [the bill], at least 500 renters were slapped with a no-fault eviction notice.
“With the spectre of homelessness never far away, renters will remain powerless to challenge dangerous conditions and unfair rent hikes.”
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