Description
The former secretary of health and the chancellor were filmed Matt Hancock and Kwasi Kwarteng were among MPs who agreed to work for thousands of pounds a day for a bogus South Korean company after they were apparently duped by the donkey-led campaign group. The former health secretary and chancellor were filmed naming a daily rate for the job, with Kwarteng adding that he would expect reimbursement for his trip, but would not expect a "bailout from the king".
Kwarteng initially said he would expect £10,000 a month but appeared to accept an offer of £8,000-12,000 a day for six board meetings a year, which could be face-to-face or virtual.
Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock has told a bogus international company his daily rate for outside work is £10,000
Meanwhile, Hancock said he had a rate of "around £1,500" an hour.
Led by Donkeys created the fake company "Hanseong Consulting" and a reporter played "Sooyeon Lee", the company's supposed vice president of external affairs.
The group said it approached MPs about joining Hanseong's "advisory board" and conducted job interviews via Zoom.
The group, along with journalist Antony Barnett, also reached out to other leading Conservatives, including former education secretary Gavin Williamson and Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee.
The latter said he was "thinking of something like £60,000 as an annual fee", in a video shared by the group.
In all, they approached 16 Tories, two Labour, one Liberal Democrat and one Independent MP, based on their financial "background". Of those, five responded with interest: four conservatives and one independent, according to a preview video posted on social media.
Barnett said the purpose of the inquiry was to find out whether MPs would take a job "promoting the interests of a company abroad in addition to their electoral duties".
Although there are no restrictions on whether MPs can have a second job, Led by Donkeys saw it as an ethical issue facing MPs after the Owen Patterson and Geoffrey Cox scandals.
Led by Donkeys said it will post more details about Zoom job interviews in the coming days. It was revealed that Mr. Williamson had turned the company down at the interview stage, but the other four wanted to continue.
Former Foreign Minister Kwasi Kwarteng
Thangam Debbonaire MP, Shadow Leader of Labor in the House of Commons, said: “Being an MP is a full-time job. Conservative MPs should not use their taxpayer-funded offices to line their pockets. It's embarrassing at any time, but especially during the cost of living crisis.
“Rishi Sunak promised a government with integrity at all levels, but his own parliamentarians seem to be breaking the rules. You must act and remove the whip from those involved. Labor will put an end to MPs earning thousands of pounds and will act to restore confidence in politics. »
Hancock, Kwarteng, Sir Graham, Williamson and the Conservative Party have been contacted for a response. None had responded at the time of writing.
A spokesperson for Hancock said: "The allegation appears to be that Matt acted completely correctly and within the rules that Parliament had just unanimously passed. It is absurd to implicate Hancock in this story through the illegal publication of a private article. ". conversation All the videos show that Matt is doing the right thing.
Sir Graham, who is leaving as an MP after the end of his term, said: 'I made it clear that any deal would have to be fully transparent and that as an MP I would only act within the code of conduct.
"I also made it clear that while I might be flexible to personally attend international meetings, this would be subject to significant votes or compromises at Westminster."
PA files
PA wire
Matt Hancock was caught on camera
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