Geoffrey Cox forced to apologise to Commons watchdog over income rules breach
1 min read
Attorney General Geoffrey Cox has been forced to apologise to parliamentary watchdogs after he failed to declare thousands of pounds in rental income.
The top barrister moved out of his deluxe central London accommodation when he entered the Cabinet last year, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
But he admitted to the Commissioner for Standards in Parliament that he had failed to register rent from tenants for six months between August and January this year.
In a letter to the watchdog he apologised for finally declaring the rent in the middle of January.
“This declaration related to a one-off change in my registrable interests (a decision to let out my former residence in London) brought on by my appointment to the Government on 9 July 2018,” he said.
“I omitted to make this declaration within 28 days due to an oversight.
“As soon as I realised the error, I caused the interest to be registered and wrote to the Registrar, in a letter dated 16 January, to apologise for the time that had elapsed.”
He added: “I should have made this declaration promptly and very much regret not having done so.”
In response, Commissioner Kathryn Stone noted that it was not the first time Mr Cox had registered thousands of pounds in income later than Commons rules allow.
In 2016 he failed to declare £400,000 in outside earnings for legal work.
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