London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

Minister backs ban on MPs having lobbying-based second jobs

Minister backs ban on MPs having lobbying-based second jobs

Anne-Marie Trevelyan’s remarks come before Commons debate on sleaze
A cabinet minister has said she backs a ban on MPs having lobbying-based second jobs after Owen Paterson’s departure from parliament, in the run-up to a Commons debate on wider allegations of sleaze that Boris Johnson is not expected to attend.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the international trade secretary, said she would support a plan considered by the Commons standards committee for MPs to be barred from paid lobbying on behalf of commercial interests, as Paterson did.

Trevelyan told Sky News: “I think the question of MPs having jobs that involve lobbying perhaps should be looked at again. But, across the board, I don’t think we should have a removal of the ability to maintain a second job, because it brings a richness to our role as members of parliament.”

Johnson would be likely to not be in the chamber for the Monday afternoon emergency debate, and would instead watch it on television and allow Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Commons leader, to speak for the government, Trevelyan added.

Saying she did not know for certain the arrangements for the debate, called by the Liberal Democrats, Trevelyan said: “My opinion would be that no, he shouldn’t be there. He will no doubt – as we all do – have the House of Commons on in his office as he’s dealing with many, many other issues that only a prime minister that can deal with.

“He will get a briefing of the key issues raised by colleagues from across the house later on, I believe that the (Commons) leader and other ministers will be well placed to take the dispatch box this afternoon.”

Trevelyan also confirmed the Commons Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, is to make a statement on the wider issue of MPs’ standards and the way complaints were investigated, after a government-prompted vote to overturn the punishment faced by the Conservative backbencher Paterson for breaking lobbying rules, a decision then rapidly reversed. Paterson quit his seat on Thursday when the government U-turned.

The debate on Monday, Trevelyan said, would mean “concerns from many colleagues” around the issue of whether the standards system had a sufficiently full method for appeal. She added: “I understand the Speaker of the House will also be making a statement later on to identify how we can move forward to help solve that issue.”

MPs are permitted to work as consultants but are generally not allowed to lobby directly on behalf of the organisations they work for. Paterson was found to have broken the rules “egregiously” in lobbying for two companies, including the clinical diagnostics company Randox, which won huge government contracts for Covid-related work.

Allegations of corruption against the government widened over the weekend after the Sunday Times reported that all 16 of the Conservative party’s treasurers, excluding the current incumbent, had been made peers with each donating an average of £3m to the party.

Asked if the claim was correct, Trevelyan said: “I don’t have the statistics in front of me,” adding that she had not seen the article.

However, she defended the wider system, saying it would be wrong to stop rich people from going to the Lords: “People are put forward for peerages for all sorts of reasons, and I don’t think that someone who happens to have been an extremely good businessman, and made a great deal of money through business activity, usually also an enormous amount of philanthropy, amazing people of all political colours, that they should be barred from going to the House of Lords.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
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
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
×