It is up to voters to decide whether MPs with second jobs have “the right priorities”, Dominic Raab has said, according to the BBC.
The work MPs do outside Westminster is under the spotlight, after ex-Tory MP Owen Paterson broke lobbying rules when working as a consultant.
Now MP Geoffrey Cox is facing questions about his work for a legal firm advising the British Virgin Islands.
Labour’s Anneliese Dodds has written to the prime minister, asking about the Conservative MP’s second job.
The former Attorney General has earned hundreds of thousands of pounds working with an international law firm, where he was sent to advise the BVI over an inquiry into government corruption.
The Daily Mail revealed the role saw him travel to the British Overseas Territory in April to work on the investigation – which was launched by the UK Foreign Office, and the then-Foreign Secretary, Mr Raab, in January.
Sir Geoffrey was there for a number of weeks, meaning he was carrying out his work as an MP – including voting – from the Caribbean.
He has declared the number of hours and the amount he has been paid to Parliament, meaning he did not break any rules.
Sir Geoffrey has not commented on the reports, but broadcasters at his constituency home have been told he was abroad.
Now Labour Party chair Ms Dodds has demanded the prime minister decides if the former minister is a “Caribbean-based barrister or a Conservative MP”, calling it a “question of leadership” for Mr Johnson.
