London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

£6m in 16 years: Geoffrey Cox’s outside earnings while sitting as MP

£6m in 16 years: Geoffrey Cox’s outside earnings while sitting as MP

Cox says electors decide whether or not to pick a ‘senior and distinguished professional’ who maintains his second job

The average full-time worker in the constituency of Torridge and West Devon earns between £521 and £530 a week – the equivalent of up to £27,560 a year. For the local MP, Geoffrey Cox, who has represented the area since 2005, that is pocket change.

Guardian analysis of the MPs’ register of interests found the former attorney general has earned nearly £6m from his work as a barrister outside parliament since becoming a Conservative MP.

He reported additional earnings for his second job of £930,588 in 2021 so far, including a retainer with corporate law firm Withers worth £400,000 a year, requiring him to work 10 hours a week outside parliament.

But even in a slow year, such as 2011, Cox declared he had received £190,000 – fee income generated from law firms based in London, Dubai and the Cayman Islands, at times priced at more than £1,000 an hour.


Clients represented by Cox have included a Sun journalist acquitted of bribing public officials for stories and clients in various Caribbean offshore jurisdictions, which have repeatedly been accused of a lack transparency.

At one point, in spring 2018, Cox spoke out unsuccessfully in the Commons against forcing the Cayman Islands to implement enhanced disclosure requirements, arguing the extra transparency would force money to “go to where it is darkest”.

More recently he has been advising the government of the British Virgin Islands, another British overseas territory, in a public inquiry into corruption. Effectively his principal client is Andrew Fahie, the BVI premier, who is defending himself and his government from allegations of misgovernance.

The total disclosed to the MPs’ register by Cox down the years is £5.92m but the true figure is likely to be far higher as tighter disclosure rules were brought in a little over a decade ago, and significant sums are only reported from 2010.

Before 2009, Cox only declares that he has made money from “practice at the bar” without disclosing the sums involved.

A statement released on behalf of the Conservative MP said on Wednesday that he was “a leading barrister in England” and made “no secret of his professional activities”.

It added that it was “Sir Geoffrey’s view” that it was “up to the electors of Torridge and West Devon whether or not they vote for someone who is a senior and distinguished professional in his field and who still practises that profession”. At the last general election his majority was 24,992.

Cox has regularly topped the list of MPs earning the most outside parliament, a list that also briefly featured Boris Johnson, when he was paid £275,000 by the Daily Telegraph for a weekly column, and only halted during the period he acted as attorney general.

Appointed by Theresa May in July 2018, he served as the government’s chief law officer and was briefly considered a rising star, after stealing the show introducing the then prime minister at party conference in October that year.

But he was sacked in February 2020 by Boris Johnson – forcing him to rapidly rebuild his legal portfolio, earning £1.48m since then.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×