6 2GM Wednesday November 10 2021 | the times
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A Conservative MP who is paid £200 an
hour by the betting industry has used
questions in parliament to urge minis-
ters not to introduce tough laws on
gambling.
Laurence Robertson is paid £2,000 a
month for ten hours’ work by the
Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), an
industry body that lobbies on behalf of
bookmakers.
Over the past year the MP for
Tewkesbury, who is 63, has warned
ministers that there is a “great danger”
that stronger gambling laws could lead
to more players using the black market
and suggested that there was not
enough evidence to warrant greater
regulation of the industry. He denies
any conflict of interest.
Robertson’s interventions have come
at a critical time for the gambling indus-
try. The government has announced a
wholesale review of gambling laws that
could lead to a ban on betting adverts
on football shirts and limits on online
stakes.
First elected as an MP in 1997, Rob-
ertson served as chairman of the
Northern Ireland affairs select com-
mittee for seven years. His consti-
Cox referred to sleaze
watchdog by Labour
Continued from page 1
to vote next week on disbanding the
new committee and to find Paterson
guilty of breaking lobbying rules.
Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy
leader, said she was referring Cox for
investigation to Kathryn Stone, the
parliamentary commissioner for stan-
dards, over the remote hearing. “This
appears to be an egregious, brazen
breach of the rules,” she said. “A Con-
servative MP using a taxpayer-funded
office in parliament to work for a tax
haven facing allegations of corruption
is a slap in the face and an insult to Brit-
ish taxpayers. The parliamentary com-
missioner for standards must investi-
gate this, and the prime minister needs
to explain why he has an MP in his par-
liamentary party that treats parliament
like a co-working space, allowing him
to get on with all of his other jobs in-
stead of representing his constituents.”
Rayner added: “You can be an MP
serving your constituents or a barrister
working for a tax haven. You can’t be
both, and Boris Johnson needs to make
his mind up which one Geoffrey Cox
will be.”
The code of conduct that governsMPs’ behaviour says: “Members are
personally responsible and account-
able for ensuring that their use of any
expenses, allowances, facilities and ser-
vices provided from the public purse is
in accordance with the rules laid down
on these matters. Members shall ensure
that their use of public resources is
always in support of their parliament-
ary duties. It should not confer any
undue personal or financial benefit on
themselves or anyone else.”
The standards committee found that
Paterson broke those rules by using his
parliamentary office on 25 occasions
for business meetings with his clients,
although it could take a different view
regarding participation virtually in
legal proceedings.
The code also tells MPs they have “a
general duty to act in the interests of
the nation as a whole” but also “a
special duty to their constituents” as
they go about their work.
On September 14, the day of the
hearing in question, MPs were debating
the government’s plans for a new levy
to fund health and social care. Cox did
not contribute to the debate.
There were six votes on the issue overNews Politics
Tory MP paid by betting group
George Grylls Political Reporter
George Greenwood
tuency is home to the Cheltenham
racecourse.
In the past year Robertson has been
given free tickets by betting companies
to watch racing at Ascot, Test matches
at Lord’s and England football matches
at Wembley. He is paid to be the BGC’s
“parliamentary adviser on sport and
safer gambling”.
While employed by the lobbying
group, he has spoken at least three
times in parliament in defence of the
gambling industry.
Last December he reacted to the an-
nouncement of the review by telling
MPs that gambling made an “enor-
mous contribution” to the racing indus-
try and demanded that the review be
“evidence-based, consistent and bal-
anced”. In July he said that if new laws
were “too stringent”, people might well
go to the black market to bet; he told
ministers that they needed to be “care-
ful” about introducing laws that could
exacerbate the “worrying trend” of illic-
it gambling.
In September, after the appointment
of a new minister, he demanded again
that the government review be
“evidence-based and evidence-led”. He
did offer the caveat on that occasion
and in July that MPs should look at his
entry in the register of interests. How-ever, transparency campaigners said
that his declarations did not excuse
paid lobbying. Duncan Hames, director
of policy at Transparency Inter-
national, said: “Past reports by the par-
liamentary standards commissioner
have made clear that no amount of pri-
or declarations of their interests per-
mits an MP to engage in paid advocacy,
and that MPs who benefit from the gen-
erosity of those whose interests they
then lobby for are doing just that.”
Boris Johnson is struggling to con-
tain a Westminster sleaze scandal over
MPs’ second jobs. The prime minister
tried to overhaul the parliamentary
standards process last week in a
botched attempt to spare Owen Pater-
son a 30-day suspension for paid lobby-
ing. Paterson subsequently resigned as
the MP for North Shropshire.
Jo Stevens, the shadow culture secre-
tary, said: “The Labour Party has long
called for the MPs’ code of conduct to
ban paid directorships and consultancy
roles. Boris Johnson has got to resolve
this issue instead of running scared
from parliament.”
Robertson is not the only Conserva-
tive MP who has declared outside earn-
ings from the betting industry.
Philip Davies, the MP for Shipley, has
earned £16,660 by advising Entain, the
holding company that owns Ladbrokes,
Coral and Foxy Bingo. Until earlier this
year Rob Butler, the MP for Aylesbury,
was paid £68,640 a year to provide
media training to Camelot, the com-
pany that runs the national lottery.
BGC said: “Laurence Robertson is a
strong advocate of big changes in the
betting industry. His appointment is
consistent with the strict parliamentary
rules and has already been declared, so
it is fully transparent.”
Robertson said: “I have taken advice
from the standards commissioner and
the arrangement is fully covered by a
contract.
“I have also referred to the register of
interests every time it has been appro-
priate and therefore do not believe any
conflict exists, and I will continue to ob-
serve the strict parliamentary rules on
these matters.”
Integrity of MPs, letters, page 26
Tories must defy the whip when
Laurence Robertson MP, middle, is paid £24,000 a year by the betting industry necessary, leading article, page 27 Sir Geoffrey Cox has been employed to work as a lawyer for the British Virgin
Seven (potentially) deadly controversies that could damage PM
Boris Johnson’s government
has faced a string of
controversies over sleaze.
Here we asses the potential
for each scandal to cause
damage to his premiership.No 10 flat refurbishment
The Electoral Commission is
investigating whether the
Conservatives properly
declared how it was paid
for, after a succession of
reports last year revealed
that funds were solicited
from private donors.
Although Johnson has been
cleared of breaching the
ministerial code, the
commission’s findings have
yet to be published. When
they are, Johnson could
face a new investigation by
the standards
commissioner.
Danger rating: 9/Second jobs and lobbying
The close scrutiny of MPs’
second jobs and potential
breaches of anti-lobbying
rules following the Owen
Paterson scandal has thepotential to cause serious
headaches for the
government. Focus has now
turned on Sir Geoffrey Cox
QC, a barrister and former
attorney-general, who has
earned hundreds of
thousands of pounds from a
second job that took him to
a remote island in the
Caribbean, from where he
cast Commons votes. Other
MPs are facing scrutiny
over their second jobs.
Should allegations of sleaze
stick, the government’s
ratings could take a plunge.
Danger rating: 8/PM’s holiday in Marbella
Johnson’s trip to Mustique
in December last year, when
he stayed in a villa owned
by a Tory donor, drew
criticism from the standards
commissioner, who said it
had not been fully declared
in his Commons interests.
Now his week-long holiday
last month in Marbella,
where he stayed in a villa
provided by Lord
Goldsmith’s family, is undersimilar scrutiny. No 10 has
said that Johnson will not
declare the stay in the
register of MPs’ interests
because it appears in his list
of ministerial ones,
potentially setting him up
for a fresh conflict with the
standards commissioner.
Danger rating: 7/Cash for honours
The government is facing
cash-for-honours
allegations over peerages
handed to Tory donors,
including the former party
treasurer Lord Cruddas.
The Metropolitan Police
said last night it was
considering allegations
submitted by the Scottish
National Party but has not
announced any formal
investigation or inquiry. The
controversy has renewed
calls for reform of the Lords.
Danger rating: 7/Covid contracts
Ministers and Tory MPs
have faced accusations of
awarding lucrative Covidcontracts to friends and
associates. Further
allegations would cause
damage to a government
already under fire.
Danger rating: 6/Parliamentary passes
Former MPs’ right to hold
passes to the Commons has
come under fresh scrutiny
after the Paterson scandal
with revelations that dozens
of lobbyists and senior
business executives have
access to parliament, either
because they are former
MPs or spouses of MPs or
because they have staff
passes sponsored by peers.
Danger rating: 5/Jennifer Arcuri
Questions remain
unanswered about
Johnson’s relationship with
Jennifer Arcuri, an
American tech
entrepreneur, while he was
mayor of London. The
London Assembly is
investigating his conduct.
Danger rating: 3/