Sir Geoffrey Cox MP breaks spirit of law over Tory sleaze – The Yorkshire Post says

SIR Geoffrey Cox’s understanding of the law is renowned and it was his careful guidance, as Attorney General, that ultimately scuppered Theresa May’s hopes of passing a Brexit deal before her premiership came to a premature end.
Sir Geoffrey Cox MP is a former Attorney General.Sir Geoffrey Cox MP is a former Attorney General.
Sir Geoffrey Cox MP is a former Attorney General.

Yet, while his booming voice and ruddy complexion drew flattering comparisons with Leo McKern’s portrayal of Horace Rumpole in TV’s Rumpole of the Bailey, the lawyer and Tory MP possesses little grasp about the spirit of the law.

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This much is clear after the sheer scale of Sir Geoffrey’s outside earnings – and suggested breach of Parliamentary rules by using his Commons office for legal work – is yet another embarrassment to Boris Johnson.

Video grab taken from the YouTube channel of BVI Commission of Inquiry of Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox attending the British Virgin Islands Commission of Inquiry, where he was representing BVI Government ministers, remotely on September 21.Video grab taken from the YouTube channel of BVI Commission of Inquiry of Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox attending the British Virgin Islands Commission of Inquiry, where he was representing BVI Government ministers, remotely on September 21.
Video grab taken from the YouTube channel of BVI Commission of Inquiry of Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox attending the British Virgin Islands Commission of Inquiry, where he was representing BVI Government ministers, remotely on September 21.

When the Prime Minister should be focusing on the Cop26 climate change summit in Glasgow so any agreement helps to curtail global warming, he’s distracted by sleaze scandals and his party’s trashing of Parliament’s integrity. And while Sir Geoffrey says that he secured the Government’s consent before representing the British Virgin Islands in a case that saw his earnings from this case reach £800,000 during lockdown, his defence, to use legal parlance, will not wash in the court of public opinion.

Despite the QC’s eminence, he’s spoken in one Commons debate since January 2020 and his view that he “regularly works 70-hour weeks” will insult the MPs from all parties who routinely devote such time to casework each week.

If he’s so confident that his West Devon constituents are happy with these arrangements, put them to the test now in a by-election – it might convince the Government to get its house in order after the mishandling of the Owen Paterson lobbying scandal was compounded by the arrogance of those MPs, albeit a minority, who view their public work as a part-time role. It is not.

Nor should they view the law with contempt.

West Devon MP Sir Geoffrey Cox is the latest politician to become embroiled in Parliament's sleaze scandal.West Devon MP Sir Geoffrey Cox is the latest politician to become embroiled in Parliament's sleaze scandal.
West Devon MP Sir Geoffrey Cox is the latest politician to become embroiled in Parliament's sleaze scandal.
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