Sir Geoffrey Cox was thrust once more into the limelight just before Christmas, after the Owen Paterson row brought the issue of MPs’ second jobs to the fore.
Newspapers were agog at the former Attorney-General’s earnings, regaling their readers with endless zeros and pound signs galore. The Daily Mail splashed the news that the baritone barrister earned £1 million a year in outside work; the Guardian claimed Sir Geoffrey had taken home £6 million since first being elected to Parliament.
But could the Torridge MP actually be getting a raw deal from his outside work? Estimates vary at to what Cox’s hourly rate is but his entry in the Commons register of interests in January says he was paid £1,393 by Withers LLP for his work on the corruption inquiry in the British Virgin Islands.
Now though it appears he has some legal competition in the Commons, for solicitor and fellow Tory MP Fiona Bruce has just declared receiving £145,352 in consultancy fees for 12 hours work from her own practice – the equivalent of £12,112 an hour. According to her most recent entry in the Commons register, this sum was comprised of £90,352 to meet tax liability and £55,000 drawings.
Ironically the address for Bruce’s own practice, which she established prior to entering Parliament, is registered at the address of ‘Justice House’ in Warrington. Given the looming cost-of-living crisis, perhaps Sir Geoffrey will need to up his game (and fees).
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