A former Tory minister has denied breaching Commons rules, despite footage which appears to show him conducting non-parliamentary work from his MP office.
Sir Geoffrey Cox’s rebuttal comes after the health secretary Sajid Javid said the rules are clear that MPs are not allowed to use their taxpayer-funded offices for their second jobs.
The Tory MP for Torridge and West Devon, who served as attorney general between 2018 and 2020, also insisted that the Tory chief whip allowed him to vote via proxy from the Caribbean earlier this year.
Sir Geoffrey was working at the time as an adviser to the British Virgin Islands (BVI) during an inquiry, launched by the UK government, into possible corruption there. He reportedly made almost £1m for his legal advice.
Elsewhere, Brexit minister David Frost appears to have distanced the UK from an early threat to suspend the Brexit deal for Northern Ireland, arguing further talks can still avert the crisis. In a statement to peers today, he repeated his warning – first made in July – to trigger Article 16 if necessary. But, he added the measure “is not inevitable”, insisting: “I want to be clear about that.”
