The Tory ex-minister Boris Johnson wanted to put in charge of rewriting MPs second job rules has been given a warning over his outside earnings.
Former Culture Secretary John Whittingdale pocketed up to £1,000-an-hour for providing “advice” to clients of a consultancy firm, according to Parliament records.
He claimed he didn’t have to approach the second jobs watchdog over two payments since November last year - telling the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) they were not actually “advice”, but “one-off speeches” to a “small audience on a topic of their choosing”, and not a long-term arrangement.
Acoba chief Lord Pickles warned Mr Whittingdale that the body’s rules on one-off speeches should not be seen as a “loophole”.
And he said any “long term” arrangement - even if it was for one-off speeches - must be run past his committee for advice first.
But the Mirror can reveal Mr Whittingdale already has a long-term relationship with AlphaSights, who describe themselves as the “global leader in knowledge on-demand.”
On top of the £1,458 he declared for “advice” given on the UK economy and consumer issues this year, he was paid £733 in 2019 for “advice” on the UK economy, and in 2018 he bagged another £741 for "advice on state of UK media industry and regulatory issues".
These payments were not mentioned in the correspondence between Mr Whittingdale and Lord Pickles.
Former ministers are required to approach Acoba before taking up jobs within two years of leaving office.
Mr Whittingdale was Culture Secretary from 2015 to 2016, and a media minister from 2020 to 2021.
In correspondence published on Monday, Lord Pickles asked Mr Whittingdale to explain the apparent breach of the rules in the two most recent payments.
"I do not have any long-term arrangement with AlphaSights Ltd. However I was approached by them on separate occasions to talk to different clients about different subjects."
He went on: "The best way to describe it is that it is like a speech to a small audience on a topic of their choosing, with the opportunity to questions."
And he said clients are required to agree that they will "neither ask for, nor offer, any privileged information during these engagements."
He said he had "no issue" with declaring his outside interests and approaching Acoba for advice, but said he "carefully considered" these activities and "believe the rules regarding one-off engagements clearly state that I did not have to do so."
In reply, Lord Pickles said the entry on Parliament's Register of Interests was "not consistent" with his description of his work for AlphaSights.
He told Mr Whittingdale to correct the record to list the engagements as "speeches."
He went on: "As set out in ACOBA’s guidance, if you enter into a longer term arrangement, including a series of speeches with AlphaSights, advice will be required from ACOBA.
"As I am sure you understand, ACOBA’s guidance on one-off activities does not provide a loophole to avoid seeking advice on advisory work."
Mr Whittingdale was to be named as chair of the proposed committee Boris Johnson wanted to review MPs’ outside jobs rules and Parliament’s sleaze watchdog.
The committee was mooted last year as No10 scrambled to prevent ex-Tory MP Owen Paterson being suspended from the Commons for breaching lobbying rules.
The plan was scrapped after a huge and damaging backlash against the PM for defending Mr Patterson.
