Torridge and West Devon MP accused of breaching Commons rules
Sir Geoffrey Cox appeared to use his parliamentary office to represent the British Virgin Islands in a corruption case against the UK government
Last updated 10th Nov 2021
Torridge and West Devon MP Sir Geoffrey Cox could be the subject of an investigation to find out if he breached parliamentary standards.
It has emerged the former Cabinet minister earned hundreds of thousands of pounds and it is alleged he spent weeks working as a lawyer in the Caribbean while Parliament was sitting.
Labour has written to the standards commissioner and accused Mr Cox of flouting the rules.
It is reported that the former attorney general was paid up to ÂŁ900,000 to work in the British Virgin Islands, where he was hired to defend the islands in an inquiry launched by the Foreign Office.
According to The Times, Sir Geoffrey used his parliamentary office to undertake some of the work.
Between January and July this year, he carried out approximately 434 hours of work at an average of more than 15 hours per week; according to his register of interest.
At the same time, it has been revealed that Sir Geoffrey took advantage of widespread proxy voting being allowed in the Commons, which was introduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He took part in votes on the cladding scandal and on protecting the UK's steel industry by proxy. As a result, he was also able to appear at a corruption inquiry held in the British Virgin Islands on the same day those votes were held.
Elsewhere Sir Geoffrey is also reported to have started a new a ÂŁ400,000 a year job outside of parliament. He has signed on with the international legal services firm Consultant Global Counsel.
It comes amid a fresh focus on MPs' second jobs following the Owen Paterson lobbying scandal.