A Tory MP has earned hundreds of thousands of pounds from a second job that saw him vote in Parliament remotely from the Caribbean.
Geoffrey Cox, a QC and former attorney general, is advising the government of the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven accused of corruption.
He took advantage of lockdown rules to cast votes in the Commons by proxy as he worked 4,000 miles away on the lucrative contract earlier this year, a source disclosed.
Geoffrey Cox pictured with his wife Jeanie. He has been paid almost £900,000 by an international law firm over the past year and received more than £130,000 for other legal work
Sir Geoffrey yesterday revealed he has earned more than £1million from outside legal work over the past year on top of his £82,000 salary as a backbencher.
A Whitehall insider said: ‘While he should have been in the UK working for his constituents he’s been over in the British Virgin Islands doing his second job working as a barrister and advising those accused of trousering cash for their mates.’
The revelation is likely to prompt fresh calls for reform of the regulations surrounding MPs’ second jobs.
It came as Boris Johnson was accused of ‘running scared’ after he snubbed a fiery Commons debate yesterday following the row over the Government’s botched attempt to block the suspension of disgraced Tory MP Owen Paterson.
According to a source Sir Geoffrey, who is known for being the highest-earning MP, spent up to a month in the British Virgin Islands working for Withers, an international law firm
In other developments yesterday:
Labour took a narrow opinion poll lead over the Conservatives for the first time in 12 months; A Tory MP said he was close to sending in a letter of no confidence in Mr Johnson’s leadership – the first step towards a possible contest to replace him; Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said the attempt by the Tories to tear up sleaze rules had showcased parliament ‘at its worst’; Another disgraced Tory MP, Daniel Kawczynski, is facing a Commons ban over a clash with the sleaze watchdog; The SNP wrote to the Metropolitan Police calling for an investigation into ‘cash for honours’ claims, following revelations that a string of Tory donors have been appointed to the Lords; Parliament faced mounting pressure to scrap the system of offering passes to former MPs, which could allow Mr Paterson to have continued privileged access to Westminster institutions ; The PM said he had not discussed a future peerage with Mr Paterson but refused to rule out the idea.Sir Geoffrey, who is known for being the
