By Jenny Gross
LONDON--Two senior British lawmakers were suspended following
allegations that they had offered to use their roles in government
to forward the interests of a private company, reigniting the
debate over whether politicians should be allowed to earn income
outside of parliament.
Two former foreign secretaries, Malcolm Rifkind and Jack Straw,
were filmed on camera by undercover reporters offering their
services to a fictitious Chinese company in return for thousands of
pounds. Reporters from The Daily Telegraph newspaper and
broadcaster Channel 4 posed as staff of a Chinese firm and secretly
recorded them offering to use their connections to help the
company, which was purportedly looking to expand its business
interests in Europe.
The allegations, which come ahead of a U.K. general election in
May, are an embarrassment for both of Britain's main parties--Mr.
Rifkind is a member of Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives
and Mr. Straw is a member of the main opposition Labour Party. The
Conservative Party Monday suspended Mr. Rifkind, who also oversees
the U.K.'s parliamentary intelligence and security committee. Mr.
Straw suspended himself from the Labour Party.
Mr. Rifkind and Mr. Straw publicly denied any wrongdoing Monday.
They both have referred themselves to parliament's commissioner for
standards, which investigates alleged breaches of the code of
conduct for lawmakers.
In one conversation recorded by the undercover journalists, Mr.
Rifkind offered to use his "useful" contacts to British ambassadors
around the world to assist the company and said he usually charges
in the region of GBP5,000 ($7,700) to GBP8,000 a day, according to
the Telegraph.
Mr. Straw allegedly boasted that he had operated "under the
radar" to use his influence to change European Union rules on
behalf of a firm that had paid him, the Telegraph reported. Mr.
Straw said he usually charges around GBP5,000 a day for
engagements.
Mr. Rifkind and Mr. Straw didn't respond to requests for
comment. In interviews with broadcast media Monday, both men denied
any wrongdoing. Mr. Straw also said that he had been exploring
possible work for after he steps down from parliament in May.
The allegations reignite a debate about whether politicians
should be earning money from second jobs and may renew pressure on
the government to tighten rules around parliamentary lobbying.
Labour Party leader Ed Miliband wrote to the prime minister
Monday calling for a ban on members of parliament from holding paid
directorships or acting as consultants. Mr. Cameron called the
allegations serious and said it was right the two politicians were
suspended pending an investigation, but said he didn't favor a
complete ban on all outside jobs or interests.
In the U.K., members of parliament, most of whom make GBP67,000
a year, are allowed to supplement their salaries with outside jobs,
including consulting for private companies and holding executive
directorships.
That contrasts to the U.S., where outside pay for members of
Congress is capped. And, members of Congress can't receive money
from entities that provide professional services involving a
fiduciary relationship, ruling out banks, law firms and other
businesses.
The Labour Party said it is consulting on legislation that would
impose a cap on all outside earnings by lawmakers.
Like many British lawmakers in the House of Commons and the
upper chamber of the House of Lords, both Mr. Rifkind and Mr. Straw
earn money outside of their work in parliament, including from
overseas entities.
Mr. Rifkind, for example, received GBP6,365 from the United Arab
Emirates government in October to cover the costs of his
participation in a World Economic Forum event in Switzerland,
according to analysis by The Wall Street Journal of Electoral
Commission data. Among other politicians the U. A. E government has
paid is Alistair Burt, another former minister in the U.K.'s
foreign office.
Mr. Burt, who left his post as foreign minister with
responsibility for the Middle East in 2013, said the U.A.E. had
paid for him to visit a conference and there was nothing untoward
about the payment.
Mr. Rifkind has held director posts at or consulted for a number
of companies. That includes a current role as a nonexecutive
director at Unilever, the world's second-largest consumer-goods
maker by revenue. Unilever paid him GBP103,000 in 2013, according
to data published by parliament.
In April, Mr. Straw received GBP6,753.30 from a Turkish
infrastructure investment firm to meet a senior member of the
Turkish government, according to the Electoral Commission. That
same month, he was paid GBP4,600 to speak at an event in Turkey. He
also has earned money by working as a consultant to ED&F Man
Holdings Limited, a commodity trading group.
There have previously been so-called "cash-for-access" scandals,
where British politicians have been accused of exploiting their
positions in parliament. In 2010, two senior Labour figures were
banned from parliament after Channel 4 journalists recorded them
offering their services to private businesses for cash. An inquiry
later tightened rules around parliamentary lobbying.
Simon Clark contributed to this article.
Write to Jenny Gross at jenny.gross@wsj.com
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