Markus Andrews

Geoffrey Cox has broken Commons rules if he used his Westminster office for his second job working for the British Virgin Islands, a Cabinet minister says.A video has emerged of the Tory MP taking part in a meeting remotely from what appears to be his Commons rooms – triggering a Labour request for an inquiry by the standards commissioner.Sajid Javid, the health secretary, stressed he was not talking about any individual case, but – asked if an MP should use their office for a second job – he replied: “No.”He added: “Whether it’s your parliamentary office, or any other parliamentary stationery, or anything that’s funded or supported by the taxpayer, of course that should not be used.“I think the rules on the use of parliamentary property, or your letters or letter heads or stamps or anything like that, I think the rules are clear. And of course, all MPs will be expected to observe that at all times.’Asked what should happen if an MP has used their office for a second job, Mr Javid told Sky News: “It should be independently judged by the parliamentary standards commissioner.“If there are particular cases, then I would trust the commissioner to look at that and come to the right decision.”The comments come after the Cox controversy took a significant twist, after it initially appeared he had not broken any Commons rules – despite working and voting from the Caribbean earlier this year, during lockdown.A video, uncovered by The Times, shows the former attorney general leaving his office during a September meeting for about 20 minutes, before returning and offering his apologies.“Forgive my absence during some of the morning, I’m afraid the bell went off,” he says – appearing to refer to the Commons division bell that alerts MPs that it is time to vote.Sir Geoffrey has failed to respond to the allegation that he carried out outside legal work from his Commons office. He is said to be “abroad” and has not been contacted.The MPs’ code of conduct states: “Members shall ensure that their use of public resources is always in support of their parliamentary duties. It should not confer any undue personal or financial benefit on themselves.”Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, in a letter to the standards commissioner Kathryn Stone, says breaking the rule must lead to “substantial consequences”.Meanwhile, the Tory MP Andrew Bowie has quit his post as a vice-chairman of the Conservative Party because he feels unable to publicly defend the government, he has told colleagues.When in the Caribbean, he voted by proxy, exploiting rules brought in to ensure MPs were not excluded because of being forced to isolate because of Covid.Just as controversially, he earned more than £150,000 as a lawyer advising the Caribbean tax haven over corruption charges brought by the Foreign Office.The job contributed to more than £1m in legal fees the QC earned since the start of 2020 – working more than 20 hours a week – on top of his £81,932 salary as an MP. More

Senior Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith receives £25,000 a year as an advisor to a hand sanitiser company that stood to benefit from recommendations made by a government task force he chaired.The Task Force on Innovation, Growth, and Regulatory Reform recommended in May this year that alcohol-free hand sanitiser be given the green light for use in the UK, with no reference to the chair’s relationship with Byotrol.In a report proposing a raft of changes to post-Brexit regulation in the UK, the task force called for an “urgent review on guidance on hand sanitisers so that tested, effective non-alcohol based sanitisers can be used”.Byotrol, which still employs Mr Duncan Smith, supplies the NHS with 92 per cent of its alcohol-free sanitiser. The Conservative MP for Chingford and Woodford Green was a director at the company from June 2009 to May 2010.His register of interests states he is retained as an adviser to the board of Byotrol, a position for which he is paid £25,000 per year “in return for approximately 12 hours per month.”“Hand hygiene (washing and sanitising) has been a crucial response to the coronavirus pandemic,” the task force report adds.“Current guidelines in the UK on non-alcohol based hand sanitisers are unclear. As a result, there is confusion in industry and among consumers as to what products are safe and effective to use, and we may be unnecessarily limiting the range of sanitising products available. “Government should review current guidance to place alcohol and non-alcohol-based on a level paying field.”The month after the report was published, Byotrol issued a press release welcoming the task force’s recommendations on alcohol-free sanitiser, describing it as a “sea change” that would “clear confusion amongst healthcare professionals, businesses, and consumers”.Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, accused Mr Duncan Smith of a “brazen conflict of interest”. “The prime minister needs to explain why he think it is justified for one of his MPs to be paid by a company that stands to benefit from a recommendation of a taskforce chaired by that same MP,” she told The Guardian.“This is exactly the kind of brazen conflict of interest that proves that the Conservatives think it is one rule for them and another for the rest of us.”She continued: “Did this MP declare an interest when these matters were discussed and reported on by the task force? Why is the prime minister failing to act over these glaring conflicts of interest?”The Independent has approached both Byotrol and Sir Iain Duncan Smith for comment. More

Tory MP Geoffrey Cox could face an investigation by the Commons standards chief over claims he used his parliamentary office to carry out private work for the government of the British Virgin Islands.The former attorney general has been accused of an “egregious, brazen breach of the rules” after footage emerged purporting to show him taking part in a corruption hearing in the Caribbean country remotely from his Westminster office.The Torridge and West Devon MP refused to deny using his parliamentary office for private business when approach by The Times over the matter. The Independent has contacted Sir Geoffrey for comment.Labour has referred the matter to Commons standards chief Kathryn Stone, saying it believes the incident could be a breach of parliamentary code, which states MPs “shall ensure that their use of public resources is always in support of their parliamentary duties”.“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,” Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said.“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.”In footage uploaded online of a British Virgin Islands commission of inquiry hearing on 14 September, Sir Geoffrey can be heard telling the commissioner: “Forgive my absence during some of the morning – I’m afraid the bell went off.”The bell referred to could be the division bell that sounds off across the parliament estate to alert MPs to a vote taking place.Earlier in the proceedings, Sir Geoffrey appears to vacate his seat for about 20 minutes at around the two-hour mark in the video footage.His Commons voting record shows that he voted in person on six occasions on September 14 to push through the Government’s health and social care levy.Sir Geoffrey is already under fire after it emerged earlier this week he voted in the Commons by proxy during lockdown earlier this year while he spent four weeks 4,000 miles working in the British Virgin Islands.The most recent register of financial interests showed that he will earn more than £800,000 from Withers, an international law firm appointed by the British Virgin Islands government in January.Sir Geoffrey also disclosed in the register that from September 28 this year until further notice, he will be paid £400,000 a year by Withers for up to 41 hours of work per month.He has made more than £1m in legal work over the past year, alongside his £82,000 MP’s salary.The MPs’ Code of Conduct states that “members are personally responsible and accountable for ensuring that their use of any expenses, allowances, facilities and services provided from the public purse is… always in support of their parliamentary duties. It should not confer any undue personal or financial benefit on themselves”. This is one of the rules the Parliamentary standards commissioner found Owen Paterson broke before the Standards Committee recommended he should be suspended from the House of Commons for 30 days.Mr Paterson later resigned after the government’s decision to whip Tory MP to block his suspension was met with backlash.Boris Johnson had refused to intervene in the growing row surrounding Sir Geoffrey on Tuesday, saying the controversy was not a matter for him. Asked if it was “appropriate” for the former attorney general to have worked in the British Virgin Islands, the prime minister’s spokesman said the “rules are set” by the Commons – not by No 10.Asked, three times, if the government would quiz Sir Geoffrey over his activities earlier this year, the spokesman declined to say that he would.Ducking the question about whether his behaviour was acceptable, but said: “The prime minister’s view is that MPs’ primary job is and must be to serve their constituents and to represent their interests in Parliament.“They should be visible in their constituencies and available to help constituents with their constituency matters.“If they’re not doing that, they’re not doing their job, and will be rightly judged on that by their constituents.”Additional reporting by PA More

Fumio Kishida is set to be reelected as Japan’s prime minister Wednesday after clearing the first major test of his leadership in recent elections.Elected just over a month ago by parliament, Kishida called a quick election where he secured enough seats in 465-member lower house — the more powerful of Japan’s two-chamber Diet — to maintain a free hand in pushing legislation through parliament. He sees the Oct. 31 victory as a mandate from voters for his weeks-old government to tackle the pandemic-battered economy, virus measures and other challenges. In the first session of parliament since the election, Kishida is to be reelected and then will form his second Cabinet in a month by reappointing most of his ministers.In a formality earlier Wednesday, Kishida’s first Cabinet resigned en masse.Kishida had been chosen by the Liberal Democrats as a safe, conservative choice a month ago. They had feared heavy election losses if the unpopular Yoshihide Suga had stayed in power. Suga resigned after only a year in office as his popularity plunged over criticism of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his insistence on holding the Tokyo Olympics despite concerns of a virus surge. Experts say Kishida’s victory showed Japanese voters chose stability over change, even though many were not necessarily supporting the governing party’s ultra-conservative policies and high-handed approach. He also was helped by a botched united front of opposition parties that turned off many of their traditional supporters because of the inclusion of the leftist Japanese Communist Party.The better-than-expected election results may give Kishida’s government more power and time to work on campaign promises, including COVID-19 control, economic revitalization and strengthening Japan’s defense capability.Kishida’s power also may be strengthened by his Cabinet changes. A key policy expert from his party faction, former education minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, will be the new foreign minister, while former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi shifts to the governing party’s No. 2 post.Motegi voted for Kishida in the party leadership race and will replace party heavyweight Akira Amari, who resigned from the post over his unimpressive election outcome due to his past bribery scandal.Kishida promises to create a reinforcing cycle of growth and improved economic distribution to raise incomes under his “new capitalism” economic policy.As a former foreign minister, Kishida will continue to prioritize the Japan-U.S. security alliance and promote a vision of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” with other democracies, including Quad dialogue members the U.S., Australia and India.Kishida stresses the importance of a stronger military amid worries over China’s growing power and influence and North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats.He has opposed changes to a law that requires married couples to adopt a single surname, which forces most women to abandon their maiden names. The Liberal Democrats are widely seen as opposed to gender equality and diversity. More

A crackdown on MPs’ second jobs has moved a step closer as Boris Johnson warned members of parliament that they must be “visible to” their constituents, but refused to intervene in the Geoffrey Cox controversy.As anger mounted over the behaviour of the former attorney general – who worked and voted from the Caribbean during lockdown – the Commons speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, warned of parliament being seen as a “dictatorship” if the government didn’t get its house in order over allegations of “sleaze”.The prime minister declined to criticise or take action against Sir Geoffrey, but did make clear that serving constituents had to be the “primary job” of any MP who was moonlighting to top up his or her salary.“They should be visible in their constituencies and available to help constituents with their constituency matters,” the PM’s spokesperson said. “If they’re not doing that, they’re not doing their job, and will be rightly judged on that by their constituents.”The Commons standards committee then signalled its intention to make significant changes by announcing it was commissioning a senior judge to offer advice, ahead of a pre-Christmas report.It is expected to recommend, as a minimum, a ban on MPs having second jobs as consultants and advisers – a landmark reform that Mr Johnson will then be under huge pressure to back.His spokesperson left open that option by saying that the prime minister was only opposed to “an outright ban” on outside jobs, declining to say what that meant.Chris Bryant, the chair of the standards committee, said: “As part of our review of the code of conduct and its operation, we have decided today we will be commissioning a senior judicial figure to advise us on possible changes to the process.”Meanwhile, Scotland Yard said it was formally considering a call to investigate allegations that peerages have effectively been sold to major Tory donors and party treasurers.Sir Geoffrey is at the centre of the sleaze row after spending several weeks in the British Virgin Islands in April and May this year, 4,000 miles away from his Devon constituency. He voted by proxy, exploiting rules brought in to ensure that MPs were not excluded because of having to isolate in relation to Covid, or because of medical conditions.Just as controversially, he earned more than £150,000 as a lawyer advising the Caribbean tax haven over corruption charges brought by the Foreign Office. The job contributed to more than £1m in legal fees the QC had earned since the start of 2020 – working more than 20 hours a week – on top of his £81,932 salary as an MP.Anneliese Dodds, the Labour Party chair, demanded an investigation into Sir Geoffrey’s activities, calling the issue “a question of leadership” for the prime minister.But the PM’s spokesperson insisted the rules were set by the Commons – not by No 10 – and refused to say whether or not voting from the Caribbean was “appropriate”, saying that they were unable to comment on individual MPs. There is no suggestion that the barrister broke any Commons rules.Downing Street did bow to pressure to reverse the prime minister’s attempt to fix Commons rules and allow the disgraced Owen Paterson to be censured.However, ministers ducked calls to allow a vote to scrap a proposed new Tory-dominated standards committee – despite demands that it be held before a Commons recess was due to begin tonight.Senior MPs pointed out that, despite the prime minister’s U-turn over the Paterson scandal, last week’s controversy meant the former cabinet minister’s conduct had not been recognised as wrong.In her letter to Mr Johnson about Sir Geoffrey, Ms Dodds wrote: “It appears that your former attorney general is profiting from advising an administration accused of corruption and tax avoidance. Sir Geoffrey’s behaviour means it looks like he’d rather get a tax haven off the hook than represent the interests of his constituents.”And when asked in an interview with Times Radio if the damage to parliament could become irreparable, the speaker warned: “If we haven’t got democracy, we’re a dictatorship. And that’s one thing that we are not going to become.” More

Scotland Yard is formally considering a call to investigate allegations of links between donations to the Conservative Party and the granting of peerages.Peter Wishart, the Scottish National Party (SNP) Commons leader, wrote a letter to the Metropolitan Police saying that 22 of the Tories’ biggest financial contributors had been made members of the House of Lords in 11 years.“Together they have donated some £54 million to the Tories,” he added. “I believe that it is only right to investigate whether these donations were, in fact, rewarded with honours.”A decision on whether to launch a full investigation has not yet been made, and the allegations have not been formally assessed.A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “The Met has received correspondence relating to recent media reports concerning the awarding of peerages.“At this time, we are considering the contents of the correspondence.”Mr Wishart’s letter, addressed to Dame Cressida Dick, asked the force to probe “potential criminal misconduct regarding the procurement of honours and membership of the House of Lords”.The MP said the issue was governed by the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925, which makes it illegal to make donations in an attempt “to procure the grant of a dignity or title of honour”.Mr Wishart pointed to an Open Democracy and Sunday Times investigation which, among other claims, found nine of the Conservative Party’s former treasures have been elevated to the House of Lords since 2010.The Tories have denied any link between the donations and the nominations to sit in the Lords.On Sunday, environment secretary George Eustice said: “They are philanthropists who give huge amounts to charity, who have been very successful in business and, therefore, on those grounds ought to be considered for the Lords.”The row comes amid mounting scrutiny over alleged corruption and “sleaze” following the government’s U-turn over findings that Conservative MP Owen Paterson had broken lobbying rules.’Coward!’: Boris Johnson absent as UK MPs debate corruption after Paterson fiascoThe party whipped its MPs to block his suspension from the House of Commons, and instead call for an overhaul of the standards watchdog that investigated Mr Paterson, before abruptly reversing its position.The move caused a furious public backlash and internal strife, as dozens of Tory MPs either voted against the motion or abstained, and some spoke out publicly against the government’s stance.Speaking in a Commons debate on the scandal on Monday, Mr Wishart said it had taken British politics “to a very dark place indeed, with the sense that rules have been torn up and the feeling that we have returned to the worst days of Tory sleaze”.He added: “The true shocker of the past couple of days is cash for honours 2.0. I really did not think, following Tony Blair being questioned under caution by the Metropolitan police 15 years ago, that we would be back to this place so quickly.”Mr Wishart said “nearly all the past treasurers of the Conservative party of later years are in that place [the House of Lords], wearing their ermine and taking part in the legislative decisions of this country”. Separately on Tuesday, Labour was calling for an urgent investigation after Dominic Raab deemed it was “legitimate” for former attorney general Sir Geoffrey Cox to earn hundreds of thousands of pounds advising the British Virgin Islands in a corruption probe launched by the Foreign Office.Another Tory MP is also under investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, who carried out the inquiry into Mr Paterson.Daniel Kawczynski, the MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, is listed on the parliamentary website as being under investigation for “actions causing significant damage to the reputation of the House as a whole, or of its members generally”. More

Boris Johnson is heading back to the Cop26 summit to try to kick-start the troubled negotiations, amid a fresh warning that they are on course to fail.The prime minister was expected to return to Glasgow at the end of the week – but will now travel, by train, on Wednesday to encourage “ambitious action” to halt the climate emergency.It is unclear whether Mr Johnson hopes to intervene on any particular sticking point in the talks, which are due to end on Friday.However, the visit comes after a warning that the world remains on track for catastrophic levels of global heating, far in excess of the targets in the Paris Agreement.Despite the carbon-cutting pledges made by governments in Glasgow, the research says temperature rises will still top 2.4C by the end of this century.That would far exceed the 2C upper limit set down in the Paris deal – let alone the prime minister’s target to “keep alive” a 1.5C goal, to prevent the worst extreme weather.The prediction comes from Climate Action Tracker, a respected analysis group, and is based on countries’ short-term goals for the crucial next decade.Calling the findings a “reality check”, Niklas Höhne, one of the authors, said: “Countries’ long-term intentions are good, but their short-term implementation is inadequate.”Asked why Mr Johnson is returning to Cop26, his spokesman said it was “to meet negotiators to get an update on the progress of the talks to encourage ambitious action in the final days”.He denied he is “worried” by the 2.4C warning, adding his “position is the same” in wanting all countries to be “playing their part”.Mr Johnson’s mood about the prospects for Cop26 have shifted over the last 10 days, in line with his ambitions for what it can realistically achieve.Before it began, No 10 said the goal was to achieve pledges to halve carbon emissions this decade, something seen by climate experts as the last chance to prevent disaster.At the G20 in Rome, the prime minister then said there was “no chance” of that in Glasgow – before lashing out at world leaders for their lack of action.But, before leaving Cop26 a week ago, Mr Johnson switched tack again to argue the world was no longer 1-5 down in the fight against the climate crisis, but was making “progress”.“We’ve pulled back a goal, or perhaps even two, and I think we are going to be able to take this thing to extra-time,” the prime minister told a press conference.In Glasgow, Alok Sharma, the Cop26 president, said: “We are making progress at Cop26 but we still have a mountain to climb over the next few days.He revealed the UK presidency would publish the first draft of the text for the final agreement overnight. More

The public could start to see Westminster as a “dictatorship” if parliament does not get its house in order on sleaze, the Commons speaker has suggested.On Tuesday Lindsay Hoyle was asked whether the damage to parliament could become irreparable and replied: “Well, if we haven’t got democracy, we’re a dictatorship. And that’s one thing that we are not going to become.”That’s why it’s my job and duty to protect Parliament, and to protect it to ensure the rights of MPs. And I’m there to stand up for them. And to make sure that we do the right things, that’s what I have been elected for.”Asked on Times Radio’s Drive programme what would happen if he failed, Mr Hoyle said: “Well, we don’t have a democracy so we can’t fail. We mustn’t fail and will not fail.”His comments come after a string of revelations about MPs’ second jobs, including the resignation of former cabinet minister Owen Paterson over a lobbying scandal.The government responded to the scandal by trying to abolish a standards watchdog, before U-turning on the plan following a backlash and boycott by opposition parties.The episode was followed by further revelations, including that another former Cabinet minister Geoffrey Cox had voted while doing a £1 million second job on a Caribbean island tax haven. More