SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has called for “root and branch” reform of MPs outside earnings.
This comes after Flynn described the secondary incomes of senior Tory MPs as “utterly perverse”.
A months-long investigation by Sky News and the Tortoise news website resulted in the launch of a database which has revealed political donations made to MPs and showed their outside earnings.
In his letter to Rishi Sunak, Flynn notes that Boris Johnson has made over £1 million by making four speeches in the United States, India and Portugal.
🍾 Two former Tory Prime Minister’s have raked in £3.6m. 🪧 At the same time the Tories want to ban the right to strike for fair pay. 💷 Politicians profiteering, and dodgy donations needs to end. ⬇️ My letter to the PM @RishiSunak pic.twitter.com/IXPjdjxUAc
— Stephen Flynn MP (@StephenFlynnSNP) January 12, 2023
“On days when parliament was sitting, he was busy lining his pockets on the far side of the planet”, the letter read.
It added: “To the public this doesn’t look like anything like public service, it looks like profiteering.”
The database also showed that senior Labour MPs received more than quarter of a million pounds in donations from a secretive firm called MPM Connect.
The National compiled a list of who was donating money to all SNP and Tory MPs using the database.
Flynn’s letter continued: “Being elected as an MP is a privilege and must never be treated as anything less than a full-time job.
“Whether a former Prime Minister or a backbench MP, there should be zero tolerance of politicians making millions in speaking tours, particularly at a time when people are facing crippling energy costs, soaring mortgage rates and the worst inflation in 40 years.
“If the public are to have any belief that this scandal is being taken seriously, then there must now be root-and-branch reform of MP second jobs, outside earnings and donations.
“Any reform must be enforceable and must close all too convenient loopholes which have been exploited for far too long.”
The research also linked parliamentarians to All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) and sets out how much funding and benefits each MP has access to through the independent groups.
Flynn added: “This Westminster scandal makes a mockery of Rishi Sunak’s claims to lead a government with integrity and accountability.
“If he has an ounce of either, he would commit to a full scale reform now.”
