London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 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
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
×