MPs should be banned from all paid advisory work, claims Transparency International UK
MPs should be banned from doing all paid advisory and consultancy work relating to parliamentary business, according to Transparency International UK, which claims current rules are "not fit for purpose".
The anti-corruption group said there was a “significant risk of conflicts of interest” in the current status quo, estimating that £3.4m was paid to 73 active MPs last year for external advisory roles.
TIUK has made 38 recommendations to changes to legislation, including a statutory register of lobbyists to include both in-house and consultants; more accurate information to be published around meetings and an independent body to be set up to monitor compliance with lobbying rules.
It also calls for MPs to be "prohibited from undertaking any paid advisory work relating to the affairs of parliament," as is the case in the House of Lords, the Scottish parliament and the Welsh Assembly.
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