Bridlington MP's consultancy fees revealed

Conservative Sir Greg Knight earns £16,000 per year from one firm.

Author: Local Democracy Reporter, Joe GerrardPublished 9th Nov 2021
Last updated 9th Nov 2021

An East Yorkshire MP earns £16,000 per year in consultancy fees.

The earnings of MPs have been revealed, in the wake of the ongoing 'sleaze' scandal hitting Parliament.

It comes as fallout from the government’s handling of a probe into former Conservative minister Owen Paterson’s work outside parliament has called the regime governing it into question.

The moves come after the government was forced to u turn on efforts to overturn the suspension of former Environment Secretary Mr Paterson.

Conservative Sir Greg Knight makes £16,000 a year to advise Cambridge and Counties Bank on business and public relations issues, working around nine hours a month.

Mr Paterson was found to be using his position to promote two companies paying him £112,000 a year.

He has since resigned his seat to leave behind what he said was the “cruel world of politics”.

He previously referenced his wife’s suicide in 2020 in the standards probe and denied any wrongdoing.

But the Standards Committee ruled he caused significant damage to the reputation of the House of Commons through his outside work.

MPs can currently be paid for consultancy work outside parliament, but they must declare it in their registry of financial interest and not use their political position for lobbying.

The House of Commons Standards Committee is expected to propose reforms to the way MPs’ consultancy work is governed in the coming weeks.

Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle is reportedly set to propose his own review into standards rules.

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