UK: Former minister's second job attracts more allegation on Johnson government

Following a report that said that Conservative Party lawmaker Geoffrey Cox earned more than 1 million pounds from a second job. This has deepened accusations of sleaze faced by the Tories led by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Geoffrey Cox, a lawyer and former attorney general, netted the lucrative sums for legal work while collecting his annual MP's salary of around £82,000 ($111,000, 96,000 euros), the Daily Mail said.

The additional pay, detailed in parliament's register of interests, came in part from advising the government of the British Virgin Islands, a UK overseas territory and tax haven accused of corruption, it added.

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Cox also took benefit of the changes made in parliamentary attendance rules that were made during the pandemic to vote remotely in the House of Commons from the Caribbean while working there, the paper found.

Cox's office did not comment immediately.

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Johnson's spokesman declined to discuss the case directly but said the British leader believes that "MPs' primary job is, and must be, to serve their constituents".

But he said Johnson "doesn't back an outright ban on second jobs", noting it could target lawmakers who also work as teachers, doctors and nurses.

The revelations intensify the pressure on Johnson, following days of criticism over sleaze and cronyism claims against his government which began with the botched handling of another Conservative lawmaker's case.

The UK leader sparked outrage last week when he tried to overhaul parliament's internal disciplinary process, which would have prevented the 30-day suspension of Owen Paterson.

Paterson was found to have committed an "egregious" rules breach, after repeatedly lobbying ministers and officials on behalf of two companies paying him more than £100,000 a year.

Although Johnson swiftly abandoned the unprecedented overhaul attempts -- prompting Paterson to resign from parliament -- it led to fierce criticism and threw the spotlight on a raft of allegations around MPs' behaviour.

(With inputs from agencies)