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| Second jobs: Voters decide if MP has right priorities, says Dominic Raab | Second jobs: Voters decide if MP has right priorities, says Dominic Raab |
| (31 minutes later) | |
| It is up to voters to decide whether MPs with second jobs have "the right priorities", Dominic Raab has said. | It is up to voters to decide whether MPs with second jobs have "the right priorities", Dominic Raab has said. |
| The work MPs do outside Westminster is under the spotlight, after ex-Tory MP Owen Paterson broke lobbying rules when working as a consultant. | |
| Boris Johnson has faced criticism over the row, which saw No 10 try to overhaul standards rules and block Mr Paterson's suspension, before a U-turn. | |
| Now MP Geoffrey Cox is facing questions about his work for a legal firm. | |
| Mr Cox - the former Attorney General - has earned hundreds of thousands of pounds from a second job with an international law firm. | |
| Which MPs have second jobs? | Which MPs have second jobs? |
| Paterson row shows PM can't act with total impunity | Paterson row shows PM can't act with total impunity |
| Minister expresses regret over Paterson vote | Minister expresses regret over Paterson vote |
| The Daily Mail revealed the role saw the Conservative MP travel to the British Virgin Islands in April, meaning he was working and voting remotely. | The Daily Mail revealed the role saw the Conservative MP travel to the British Virgin Islands in April, meaning he was working and voting remotely. |
| Mr Cox has declared the number of hours and the amount he has been paid to Parliament, meaning he did not break any rules. | Mr Cox has declared the number of hours and the amount he has been paid to Parliament, meaning he did not break any rules. |
| But Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds has written to the prime minister, demanding he decides if the former minister is a "Caribbean-based barrister or a Conservative MP", calling it a "question of leadership" for Mr Johnson. | But Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds has written to the prime minister, demanding he decides if the former minister is a "Caribbean-based barrister or a Conservative MP", calling it a "question of leadership" for Mr Johnson. |
| Asked about Mr Cox's jobs, Mr Raab - who is both deputy prime minister and justice secretary - said it was "perfectly reasonable" to ask questions about whether that amount of work is acceptable on top of being an MP. | Asked about Mr Cox's jobs, Mr Raab - who is both deputy prime minister and justice secretary - said it was "perfectly reasonable" to ask questions about whether that amount of work is acceptable on top of being an MP. |
| But added: "Ultimately, it is for voters of any MP, myself included, to decide whether the people representing them have got the right priorities. | But added: "Ultimately, it is for voters of any MP, myself included, to decide whether the people representing them have got the right priorities. |
| "I don't think it's for me to start making or prejudicing or second guessing the judgements that they make." | "I don't think it's for me to start making or prejudicing or second guessing the judgements that they make." |
| However, the Liberal Democrats said the public would be "gobsmacked" by the reports into Mr Cox, with one of its MPs, Wendy Chamberlain, calling it "frankly astonishing" that Mr Raab could defend his Tory colleague. | However, the Liberal Democrats said the public would be "gobsmacked" by the reports into Mr Cox, with one of its MPs, Wendy Chamberlain, calling it "frankly astonishing" that Mr Raab could defend his Tory colleague. |