BORIS ACTS ON SLEAZE AT LAST
He backs ban on lobbying jobs AND crackdown on ‘outside interests’ – beating Starmer to the punch
BORIS Johnson finally bowed to public pressure yesterday as he called for a crackdown on MPs’ second jobs.
In a major shift, the Prime Minister said elected politicians should have limits placed on the time they spend earning money outside Parliament.
He also called for a ban on MPs acting as paid consultants to private firms.
The unexpected move – announced as Keir Starmer began a press conference to publicise his own plans to clean up the Commons – follows mounting public anger, sparked by Mr Johnson’s handling of Tory scandals. The Mail revealed on Saturday that Labour had taken a sixpoint lead in the polls amid outcry over Owen Paterson’s lobbying and Geoffrey Cox’s lucrative legal sideline.
The new rules could be introduced in January if an agreement can be reached with Labour. However, the proposals prompted an immediate backlash from Mr Johnson’s own MPs, who now face losing out on thousands – and in some cases millions – of pounds.
A Whitehall source confirmed the plans were likely to restrict the activities of Sir
‘Pouring fuel on a fire that was going out’
Geoffrey, a former attorney general. The Mail revealed last week that he had earned more than £5.5million from his other jobs – including a stint in the British Virgin Islands during lockdown.
Mr Johnson declared that his proposals would ensure MPs who are ‘neglecting their duties to their constituents and prioritising outside interests would be investigated, and appropriately punished by the existing disciplinary authorities’. He said it was now ‘imperative that we put beyond doubt the reputation of the House of Commons by ensuring the rules which apply to MPs are up to date, effective and appropriately rigorous.’
He said he would seek a ‘crossparty consensus’ on the issue – prompting fears from some Tory MPs that Labour will ensure new rules are exceedingly tough.
As the PM battled to regain the public’s confidence:
■ MPs on Parliament’s liaison committee prepared to grill Mr Johnson over the sleaze row today;
■ It emerged that MPs could also be banned from taking freebies from lobbyists – and could have to declare new jobs they take after leaving Parliament;
■ Jacob Rees-Mogg said he had made a ‘serious mistake’ in advising the PM to try to block Mr Paterson’s Commons suspension;
■ MPs finally voted to endorse a report on the conduct of Mr Paterson, who has now quit as an MP;
■ Sir Keir claimed the PM had been ‘dragged kicking and screaming’ to support reform by Labour’s own bid to tighten the rules. The Government will now try to amend Labour’s anti-sleaze motion with a vote in the Commons this afternoon to reflect the PM’s new plan.
Mr Johnson’s announcement came less than a fortnight after he tried to save Mr Paterson, who was found to have broken lobbying rules. As recently as a week ago, the PM said MPs’ second jobs can ‘strengthen’ Parliament.
But yesterday saw his predecessor Theresa May deliver a withering assessment on the Paterson debacle, saying the Government’s attempt to spare the former minister had been ‘misplaced, ill-judged and just plain wrong’. She added: ‘Damage has been done to all MPs and to Parliament as a whole.’
The new proposals could directly affect around 30 MPs who currently hold lucrative jobs advising firms. They include former Tory chief whip Andrew Mitchell, who is paid more than £182,000 a year to advise six companies, and former transport secretary Chris Grayling, who is paid £100,000 a year as a ‘strategic adviser’ to a ports operator.
The plan to place ‘reasonable limits’ on time spent on outside interests follows outcry over Sir Geoffrey, who has devoted 10,700 hours to his legal career since 2009. Yet some Tory MPs warned the PM risked going too far.
‘The Prime Minister is pouring fuel on the fire just as it was starting to go out,’ one senior figure said. ‘What does “reasonable limits” mean? Can you still be a minister and a constituency MP?
‘Labour will have a field day with this – they will end up having us clocking in and clocking out to no useful end, while the media will crawl all over everything we do.’
Mr Rees-Mogg attempted to take the blame for the public backlash yesterday, telling the Conservative Home website that he had persuaded the PM to try to help Mr Paterson. The Commons Leader said he had done so out of sympathy for the former environment secretary, whose wife Rose committed suicide last year.
The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, Kathryn Stone, found Mr Paterson guilty of ‘egregious’ breaches of lobbying rules on behalf of two firms which had paid him more than £500,000.
But Mr Rees-Mogg said he felt Mr Paterson had been ‘punished enough’ by his tragic loss. ‘It was not seen by the electorate as being merciful, it was seen as being selfserving,’ he said of the attempt to block Mr Paterson’s suspension. ‘I must take my share of responsibility for this. I thought it was the right thing to do, I encouraged the Prime Minister to go down this route, and I was wrong.’ The PM said at the weekend: ‘Of course, I think things could certainly have been handled better... by me.’