The former UK attorney general Sir Geoffrey Cox is facing a conflict of interest claim after it emerged that he had lobbied against imposing tougher financial regulation on the Cayman Islands just months after he gained more than £40,000 from legal firms based in the tax haven. The Conservative MP is under the spotlight over MPs’ second jobs as the fallout from a sleaze scandal engulfing the Conservative party continues. His £1m of extra earnings raised questions about how much time he was devoting to his job funded by the public purse. After Labour referred him to the standards commissioner for appearing to attend a court hearing remotely from his Commons office, Cox’s other legal work came under scrutiny.
It has emerged that Cox argued against an amendment to the sanctions and anti-money laundering bill debated in parliament in May 2018. The proposal would have imposed stricter regulation on British overseas territories by forcing them to create a public register of company owners. However, Cox, the MP for Torridge and West Devon, opposed the measure. He said it broke a promise to the people of the Cayman Islands that the UK government would not impose legislation without their consent. Cox claimed the Cayman Islands were “given a constitution in which the responsibility for the governance of their financial and economic affairs was solemnly conveyed to them by this parliament”, and that the amendment would “require that constitution to be amended so that the section that conveys on them the power to make their own orders in these affairs will have to be removed”. The MP’s entry in the register of interests published in August that year said he was paid tens of thousands of pounds for legal work by companies based in the Cayman Islands. The register said he received £40,000 for 60 hours of work between September 2017 and February 2018 paid by Messrs Travers, Thorp, Alberga, Attorneys, based on Grand Cayman island. The firm describes itself as advising on “all types of offshore entities”. A further £3,135 was paid from Bradys Attorneys-at-Law, also registered on Grand Cayman, for 25 hours of work between January 2016 and July 2017. The company says it offers court representation, as well as trade and business advice. Cox alluded to his work for firms based in an overseas tax haven during the debate in 2018. At the end, he told the Speaker: “I should have made it clear … that I have on occasions practised in some of the Caribbean countries that formed the basis of our discussion in my capacity as a member of the Bar. I have done that for more than 20 years and I have a familiarity with those jurisdictions as a result.” Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, who referred Cox to the standards commissioner on Tuesday night, said it appeared that he was “trying to prevent a crackdown on tax avoidance”. She claimed this would be a “glaring conflict of interest and an insult to British taxpayers”. 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 as to which one Cox will be.” Cox, who has only spoken once in parliament since he left the government last February, has been contacted for comment. Earlier on Wednesday his office released a statement defending his outside business practices. It said he “makes no secret of his professional activities” but that he “always ensures that his casework on behalf of his constituents is given primary importance and fully carried out”.