Labour asks PM: is Geoffrey Cox is a Caribbean-based barrister or a Tory MP?

Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds has asked Boris Johnson today whether Geoffrey Cox is a Caribbean-based barrister or a Conservative MP, after it emerged that the MP had worked for a Caribbean tax haven during the height of the pandemic.

The Daily Mail has revealed that the barrister and MP for Torridge and West Devon took advantage of Covid parliamentary rules to vote in the House of Commons by proxy while working for the government of the British Virgin Islands accused of corruption.

According to the register of members’ financial interests, the Conservative MP was paid £156,916.08 by Withers for 140 hours of work undertaken between 29th April and May 31st this year. He has been paid almost £900,000 by the international law firm over the past year.

Dominic Raab, the deputy Prime Minister, said: “He was hired by the government of the BVI to advise them on how to correct and deal with and address those allegations. Actually it is a legitimate thing to do as long as it’s properly declared.”

But Labour is calling for an urgent investigation into the conduct of the former Attorney General, with Dodds telling the Prime Minister today: “It appears that your former Attorney General is profiting from advising an administration accused of corruption and tax avoidance.”

Full text of the letter from Anneliese Dodds to Boris Johnson:

Dear Prime Minister,

I am writing to ask you to launch an urgent independent investigation into former Attorney General Sir Geoffrey Cox and his second job acting on behalf of a known tax haven which is being investigated for corruption.

It’s time to show leadership. In fact, it’s past time – you should have come to the House of Commons yesterday to answer questions, apologise and act to clean up the sleaze that is drowning your party and toxifying public life.

We know that Sir Geoffrey made over a million pounds last year alone from legal work outside of his role as an MP, including acting on behalf of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in a case where it has been accused of corruption.

Incredibly, it seems Sir Geoffrey took advantage of COVID-related parliamentary rules and flew out to the BVI to vote by proxy from the other side of the Atlantic. The irony is not lost on me that he arrived in the Caribbean on the day that those MPs who actually feel a sense of duty to their constituents were debating global anti-corruption standards. The people of Torridge and West Devon must be wondering if Geoffrey Cox is a Caribbean-based barrister or a Conservative MP.

I can only assume that you didn’t know about this arrangement and were as shocked as everyone else to discover what Sir Geoffrey has been up to, because the alternative – that you knew and were content for one of your MPs and a former minister to be acting in this way – would be a total dereliction of your duty as both leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister.

As we saw with Owen Paterson just last week, Geoffrey Cox’s behaviour raises serious questions about the conflicts of interest between MPs having second jobs that involve them lobbying or otherwise directly engaging with the government. Sir Geoffrey has been advising the government of the BVI on behalf of Withersworldwide LLP (‘Withers’) during an inquiry into possible “corruption, abuse of office or other serious dishonesty that has taken place in public office in recent years” – an inquiry that was initiated by the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, part of the government Sir Geoffrey himself served in as recently as February 2020.

When approving his role at Withers, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) attached specific conditions to Sir Geoffrey’s appointment “to mitigate the potential risks to the Government associated with this appointment” noting that in his case there were “unknown risks” as to what he might be asked to do on behalf of his new employer. He was required to “consult the AGO at the earliest possible opportunity to seek advice in any case in which a risk might reasonably be considered to arise from a perception of overlap between your previous role and your new appointment”. He was also required not to draw on any privileged information available to him from his time in ministerial office, and for two years from his last day in ministerial office not to become personally involved in lobbying the UK government, not to make use – directly or indirectly – of his contacts in the government and/or Crown Service to influence policy, not to undertake any work with that involves providing advice on bids or contracts relating directly to the work of the UK government, nor directly engage with the Attorney General’s Office on any other matters relating to Withers or their clients. ACOBA was clear that where Sir Geoffrey was in doubt he “must consult the Attorney General’s Office as to the appropriateness of any particular assignment”.

It is hard to see how those terms can have been met if Sir Geoffrey has been advising a known tax haven in relation to a corruption investigation opened by the UK government itself. We need answers as to what’s been happening here. We need to know:

• How was Sir Geoffrey appointed to work on the BVI inquiry in the first place?
• The details of every meeting he has attended in relation to the inquiry
• The minutes of every conversation he had with other MPs about the inquiry
• What advice he has given in relation to the inquiry
• What contact he has had with people whose businesses are based in the BVI for tax purposes – in particular those who have given donations to the Conservative Party

Without answers to those questions, it appears that your former Attorney General is profiting from advising an administration accused of corruption and tax avoidance. Sir Geoffrey’s behaviour means it looks like he’d rather get a tax haven off the hook than represent the interests of his constituents. Are you comfortable with one of your own MPs acting in this way?

The longer you fail to get a grip on the sleaze which is swamping your government, the more it becomes apparent that there’s one rule for senior Conservatives and another for everyone else.

One MP found guilty by a cross-party committee of an egregious breach of standards rules. Another jetting halfway round the world to help an administration accused of corruption in an inquiry initiated by the British government. All on your watch.

This is a question of leadership, Prime Minister. It’s time to act.

Yours sincerely,

Anneliese Dodds MP
Chair of the Labour Party