'You Must Put Your Job as an MP First', Boris Johnson Says Following Paterson Lobbying Row

Last week, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government faced a backlash after it attempted to oppose the suspension of then-MP Owen Paterson, who was accused of "repeatedly" breaching the House of Commons' rules on lobbying.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made it clear that those lawmakers who breach parliamentary rules on second jobs "should be punished", a statement that came amid ongoing controversy involving a number of Tory MPs in such activity.

Speaking to reporters at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, Johnson said that he would not comment on individual cases, but underscored that "the rules say two crucial things: you must put your job as an MP first and you must devote yourself primarily and above all to your constituents and the people who send you to Westminster, to parliament".

The prime minister recalled the rules also say that "you should not use your position as an MP to lobby or otherwise intervene on behalf of any outside commercial interest".

"It is not only that you have to register those interests – you can't lobby or make representation while an MP on behalf of those interests. Those are the rules and they must be enforced and those who don't obey them should, of course, face sanctions", the PM stated.

When asked whether he had a message to allay voters' fears over reports about the Tory-related "sleaze" row, Johnson said he "genuinely" believes that the UK "is not remotely a corrupt country" and that he "genuinely thinks that our [the UK's] institutions are not corrupt".

"We have a very, very tough system of parliamentary democracy and scrutiny, not least by the media. I think what you have got is cases where, sadly, MPs have broken the rules in the past, may be guilty of breaking the rules today. What I want to see is them facing appropriate sanctions", he reiterated.

At the same time, he added that lawmakers had been allowed to do other jobs for "hundreds of years", and that "on the whole" this had strengthened British democracy because voters "feel parliamentarians need to have experience of the world".

"But if that system is to continue today, it's crucial MPs follow the rules", Johnson emphasised.

He spoke after Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner urged him to explain "why he thinks it is justified for one of his MPs to be paid by a company that stands to benefit from a recommendation of a task force chaired by that same MP".

Rayner referred to former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, who is currently under fire over heading a government task force that recommended new rules benefiting the hand sanitiser firm Byotrol.

Now a senior lawmaker, the 67-year-old Smith receives £25,000 ($33,768) a year as an adviser to Byotrol "in return for approximately 12 hours per month". The Conservative MP for Chingford and Woodford Green served as a Byotrol director from June 2009 to May 2010.

In a separate development on Monday, the Daily Mail revealed that Tory MP and former Attorney General Sir Geoffrey Cox earned more than £800,000 ($1,072,500) "moonlighting" for a tax haven in the Caribbean that allowed him to continue to vote remotely in parliament.

He is accused of not prioritising his job as an MP and using his office to carry out private work for a British Virgin Islands inquiry.

In a statement published on his website, Cox tried to uphold his extra earnings by insisting that "he does not believe that he breached the rules".

Paterson Scandal

The developments come following a scandal surrounding embattled Conservative lawmaker Owen Paterson, who faced a 30-day House of Commons ban over an "egregious case of paid advocacy".

The MP was accused of "repeatedly" breaking the body's lobbying rules over his paid consultancy work on behalf of two companies that paid him more than £100,000 ($135,000) annually.

While Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone recommended Paterson be suspended in a report approved by a group of cross-party MPs on the Standards Committee, Prime Minister Johnson's government tried to grant Paterson a reprieve by turning the spotlight onto the standards process itself.

Harsh criticism from opposition MPs and some Tories, however, prompted the government do an about-face on Paterson's suspension, which was followed by the lawmaker announcing that he was stepping down to leave "the cruel world of politics".

UK media outlets cited unnamed senior Tory sources as saying that the situation raises serious questions about Johnson's judgment and leaves the entire Conservative Party tarnished by "sleaze".

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer was quick to accuse the prime minister of "corroded trust" in MPs, arguing that by trying to stop Paterson's suspension, BoJo had given the "green light to corruption".