London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

MPs Layla Moran and Crispin Blunt admit using offices for paid meeting

MPs Layla Moran and Crispin Blunt admit using offices for paid meeting

Two MPs have admitted using their Commons offices for non-parliamentary paid meetings.

Layla Moran insisted "it will not happen again"

Liberal Democrat Layla Moran and Conservative Crispin Blunt appeared via video link on a panel discussing political prisoners in Saudi Arabia.

The event last November was organised by law firm Bindmans LLP.

According to the register of financial interests for MPs, Ms Moran was paid £3,000 by the firm and Mr Blunt received £6,000.

Bindmans described the meeting as an "evidence session", which heard from human rights organisations and family members of detained Saudi Arabian activists.

Under House of Commons rules, MPs must not use the parliamentary facilities for non-parliamentary work.

Ms Moran, MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, has apologised and said she "deeply regretted" it.

In a statement, Ms Moran said: "With MPs from other parties, I worked on the detention of political prisoners in Saudi Arabia with Bindmans.

"I deeply regret that I 'zoomed' in for one meeting from my office in Parliament when Covid restrictions were in place.

"I take full responsibility for this and it will not happen again."

Crispin Blunt said MPs were being subjected to an "absurd feeding frenzy"


Mr Blunt, who represents Reigate, told the BBC it did not occur to him that there would be an issue using a room in Parliament at no cost to the taxpayer.

He said the MPs on the panel were discussing a matter of "serious public concern" and emphasised he would accept the findings of any investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner if a complaint was made.

He told the BBC: "It was a parliamentary panel, although one not formed as either an all-party-parliamentary group or a select committee.

He added: "I have chaired three of these detention review panels over recent years and as the panel members were all parliamentarians, each panel cross party, advised by legal counsel, examining matters of serious public and human rights concern - that on any reasonable interpretation the work would meet a definition of being 'parliamentary'."

Mr Blunt continued that while the panel members had been paid a fee for their time and expertise devoted to the work, it had been declared in the usual way, and the process was open to public scrutiny throughout.

He said he thought MPs were being subjected to an "absurd feeding frenzy" by the media in relation to their additional work that was now "doing wider damage to the institution of Parliament by creating a wholly inaccurate image in the mind of the wider public".

Politicians are allowed to have second jobs outside Westminster but the work they do has come under the spotlight since Tory MP Owen Paterson, who has since stood down, broke lobbying rules when working as a consultant.

And questions have been raised about Conservative MP and former attorney general Sir Geoffrey Cox, who earned about £900,000 last year through his work outside Parliament.

He notched up the wage bill in his work as a lawyer, including travelling to the British Virgin Islands (BVI) to advise on a corruption inquiry.

Labour chair Anneliese Dodds previously accused him of taking advantage of Covid restrictions to work remotely from the Caribbean.

No 10 said MPs should be "visible in their constituencies and available to help constituents with their constituency matters".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
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
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×