His lifelong focus was on his responsibilities as an MP, and he showed how much influence a committed and hard-working parliamentarian can have. During the same period he has spoken just once in the chamber.Ĭompare that lamentable record with that of Sir David Amess, the Tory MP recently murdered at his constituency surgery. Since February 2020, Sir Geoffrey Cox has spent ten days in court, either in person or remotely, on behalf of the British Virgin Islands government. It was his refusal to accept a relatively minor punishment that precipitated the current crisis for the Tories.Ī second objection is that MPs who spend too much time working for outside interests risk ignoring the Commons and neglecting their constituents’ problems. That is what happened to Owen Paterson, who was in receipt of more than £100,000 a year from two companies, and broke parliamentary rules by lobbying, though he continues to deny any infringement. Large firms may expect some sort of return if they pay politicians whopping amounts. One objection to MPs earning large sums from beady-eyed businesses is that they may be tempted to bend the rules in service of their financial masters. Even the party’s leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has banked £25,934 in legal fees in the past year for work he did before becoming Labour leader. Labour's leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has banked £25,934 in legal fees in the past year for work he did before becoming Labour leaderĪmong Labour MPs making substantial sums are David Lammy, who was paid £140,000 over three years for speeches and media appearances. He may not have broken any rules, but here is a man not overburdened with a sense of shame.
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Despite his vast earnings, he didn’t scruple to claim £629 for an Apple iPad plus £419 for accessories from the taxpayer so that he could work while travelling.
Sir Geoffrey may be a fine man, but he would seem to personify what many detest most about the Tories. A prolonged sojourn close to sun-kissed beaches while his neglected constituents cope with Covid. They may have grown used to his absences as he is so often engaged in highly paid legal work. That amounts to £1,121 an hour.Īs a result, the good folk of Torridge and West Devon, emerging as they were from the tribulations of lockdown, were deprived of his services for several weeks, though he is said to have kept in touch via Zoom. Sir Geoffrey - who is both rotund and orotund, and looks as though he might have wandered out of the Edwardian era - pocketed £156,916.08 for 140 hours’ work. His behaviour was entirely legal - and he was paid stupendously well. Let’s just say that this former officer of the Crown wasn’t obviously working in the interests of Her Majesty’s Government while he was abroad. In particular, the Foreign Office has launched an inquiry to establish whether there is evidence of ‘corruption, abuse of office or other serious dishonesty that has taken place in public office in recent years’.
There he proffered expensive legal advice to the territory’s government, which has been accused of corruption. The “Mare Nostrum” was a concept which saw the Mediterranean basin as the centre of the Roman Empire, and was later revived by the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.During April and May last year, Sir Geoffrey is believed to have been holed up 4,000 miles away in the British Virgin Islands, a notorious tax haven. “Of course Ukraine, Turkey, Maghreb, there’s got to be a role for all of us in a wider conversation about issues that affect all of us.” He said: “I think that Turkey should be there, I think that Maghreb should be there and I think we should basically be recreating the Mare Nostrum of the Roman Empire. Mr Johnson and Emmanuel Macron have been in talks over the possibility of Britain joining a “European political community” – but the Prime Minister has suggested that he would prefer a broader deal. “I think if you vacate something like the G20 you risk just handing the propaganda opportunity to others.” “The people who look at Ukraine and have mixed feelings, we need to be doing more to win them over, we need to be making our case and you know who those countries are.
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