The 20 highest-earning MPs raked in nearly half a million pounds from second jobs in the four months it took the government to U-turn on plans for a clampdown.
Former prime minister Theresa May and the Conservative MP and barrister Geoffrey Cox are among those whose private earnings since November total more than their entire annual parliamentary salary of £81,932. In total, the highest earners made £473,100 in that time.
It was revealed today that ministers had quietly abandoned their pledge to limit what MPs could earn from activities outside Parliament, made in November in the wake of the lobbying scandal sparked by Owen Paterson.
