A Conservative grandee has been
referred to the Commons anti-sleaze
watchdog after appearing to use his
parliamentary office to defend the
British Virgin Islands in a corruption
case brought by the UK government.
Sir Geoffrey Cox QC, the former at-
torney-general, has been paid more
than £1 million in the past 12 months to
work as a lawyer for clients including
the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in a legal
inquiry started by the Foreign Office.
Cox, the highest-earning MP, was in
the Caribbean to defend BVI ministers
in April, May and June this year, using
procedures introduced during the pan-
demic to cast his ballot in the Commons
by proxy while abroad. Amid outrage at
that arrangement, video of a hearing in
September has emerged showing him
participating remotely, from what ap-
pears to be his Commons office. Con-
tacted by The Times, Cox failed to deny
doing his legal work from that office.
The Labour Party accused him of
“brazenly” breaking rules requiring
MPs to use their taxpayer-funded
offices only for parliamentary work.
Downing Street, still dealing with thefallout from the prime minister’s
botched attempt to save Owen Pater-
son’s career, accused Cox of failing to do
his job. Boris Johnson’s spokesman said
he did not support an outright ban on
MPs having second jobs but that the
primary work of parliamentarians
should be representing the electorate,
warning MPs that they should be
“visible in their constituencies”.
Cox, who is the MP for Torridge &
West Devon, is understood to be deter-
mined to fight his corner and has told
friends that there is “nothing new” in
the reports. He is said to have privately
dismissed calls for him to resign.Henry Zeffman
Chief Political Correspondent
Sir Geoffrey Cox QC represents the British Virgin Islands in corruption hearings. MPs must use taxpayer-funded Commons offices only for their parliamentary work
‘Brazen’ Cox accused of
flouting Commons rules
Last week Conservative MPs were
whipped to back an overhaul of the
standards process. The government
backed the move in an attempt to pause
the case of Paterson, a former cabinet
minister who had been found in breach
of lobbying rules and was facing a six-
week suspension. Though the govern-
ment won a narrow majority to set up a
new committee to review the rules,
opposition parties refused to take part.
The government backed down the next
day and Paterson quit as an MP.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the
Commons, said that he would ask MPs
Continued on page 6, col 4Two Jags to
No Jags as
Prescott
goes green
Patrick Maguire Red Box EditorDuring his decade in cabinet, John
Prescott was so renowned for his
attachment to gas-guzzling cars that he
earned the nickname “Two Jags”. Now,
however, his garage is empty.
The former deputy prime minister
has sold the last of his beloved Jaguars
and even forgoes environmentally
unfriendly fish and chip suppers in an
attempt to cut his carbon footprint.
On the eve of a trip to Cop26 that
marks his return the political front line
after a period of ill health, Lord
Prescott, 83, has christened himself
“Zero Jags”. Announcing the end of his
relationship with the British marque in
an article for The Times Red Box, he
warns Boris Johnson that the pledges
made by world leaders in Glasgow do
not go far enough to curb carbon
emissions.
Prescott, who as environment secre-
tary led EU negotiators when devel-
oped nations agreed the first binding
climate targets in 1997, writes: “Carbon
emissions must fall some 7.6 per cent
annually through 2030 to keep the 1.5C
cap in play. It’s clear the nationally
determined contributions presented so
far at Glasgow won’t do that.”
The prime minister can console
himself, however, with the knowledge
that the climate conference has given
Westminster’s most notorious motorist
an incentive to go green. “I’ve made my
own small contribution to cutting
carbon emissions. I’ve sold my Jaguar. I
am now Zero Jags,” said Prescott, who
in 2018 confessed to having bought
“every kind” of Jaguar bar one.
He and Lady Prescott now keep a
carless household.
It is not Prescott’s only lifestyle
change. A longstanding devotee of
Humberside’s takeaway scene, he has
also converted to low-carbon fish and
chips cooked with potatoes sourced
within an hour of Papa’s, a Hull
restaurant, in energy-efficient fryers.
“Selling a car or eating fish and chips
with a lower carbon footprint alone
won’t save the planet,” Prescott, who
suffered a stroke in 2018, writes. “But as
the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once
said, ‘Great acts are made up of small
deeds.’ ”
PM ‘needs to drive hard bargain’, page 16Video appears to show top-earning Tory MP using parliamentary office for legal work
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