Cox Agrees To More Paid Work On BVI Inquiry This Month As Parliament Sits

The Conservative MP Geoffrey Cox has agreed to an additional two weeks of work representing ministers from the British Virgin Islands this month while parliament is sitting, it has emerged.

- Peter Walker, Dan Sabbagh, Kevin Rawlinson

The Conservative MP Geoffrey Cox has agreed to an additional two weeks of work representing ministers from the British Virgin Islands this month while parliament is sitting, it has emerged.

While Cox will not travel to the Caribbean, and will have to appear only once before the inquiry panel looking into the country’s governance standards, he is scheduled to work on the complex inquiry from 15 to 26 November, official records show.

The commitments prompted renewed criticism of Cox’s focus on his parliamentary duties. Since first becoming MP for Torridge and West Devon in 2005, his continued work as a senior barrister has seen him earn almost £6m on top of his salary.

Cox is currently representing a series of British Virgin Islands (BVI) government figures including the prime minister, Andrew Fahie, during a formal commission of inquiry examining claims of misgovernance and abuse of office.

He travelled to the country at various points from April this year and used procedures in place amid Covid restrictions to cast proxy votes in his absence. Cox has also appeared virtually from his parliamentary office, prompting Labour to seek an investigation into whether this broke Commons rules against using such facilities for private work.