Tory MP Andrew Bridgen investigated by Parliament watchdog over lobbying claims
11 February 2022, 18:06
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen is under investigation over claims of paid lobbying and failing to properly declare interests.
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Parliament's Commissioner for Standards has started a probe after reports emerged the North West Leicestershire MP lobbied over a business called Mere Plantations.
The timber company gave £5,000 to Mr Bridgen's local Conservative association after he called then-Foreign Office Minister Andrew Stephenson in August 2019.
He also accepted a £3,300 trip to Ghana, paid for by Mere Plantations, which he said was a "learning trip" on mitigating climate change as well as "asset inspection".
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Since May 2020 he has been listed as an unpaid business and international politics adviser.
Mr Bridgen, a backbencher, said he welcomed the chance to "clarify" the circumstances with Kathryn Stone, the Commissioner, and added that he "never received any money" from the company.
He said the call to Mr Stephenson was about "function of the business attache in support of UK businesses" in Accra, the Ghanaian capital.
Ms Stone is investigating a potential breach of the MPs' code of conduct which says "no member shall act as a paid advocate" and is also looking at a section saying they should be "open and frank" in drawing attention to financial interests in the House of Commons or when speaking to ministers.
He said on Friday: "I'm delighted to be able to clarify these matters with the standards commissioner and I will reiterate I have never received any money from Mere Plantations or anyone associated with them."
A Mere Plantations spokesman said there was "nothing inappropriate", adding: "We haven't paid Andrew Bridgen anything.”
Asked about the donation to the Tory association, they said: "We made a donation to help them with the election, simple as that, all perfectly recorded, all perfectly dealt with, all perfectly above board."
