George Freeman has been booted from his trade envoy role after explosive claims a company paying him £5,000 a month helped write his parliamentary questions.
The Mid-Norfolk MP was “asked to step back” yesterday. Downing Street confirmed he’s been suspended from representing Britain as a trade envoy to Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Brunei.
The leaked emails that started it all
The Times got hold of emails showing Freeman asking GHGSat’s bosses what questions he should ask ministers. The greenhouse gas monitoring company was paying him £60,000 a year for just eight hours work a month.
That’s £625 an hour!
Freeman submitted questions to Labour ministers about space data and emissions tracking – exactly the sector GHGSat operates in. The emails allegedly show him asking the company’s director what to ask about as he prepared his parliamentary questions.
One email reportedly shows Freeman asking his staffer to tick ‘any “interest declaration” box if there is one’ when tabling the questions.
He referred himself to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner over the weekend. “I don’t believe I have done anything wrong,” he insisted.
But here’s the kicker – Freeman was specifically warned by watchdog Acoba NOT to use his position in parliament to the company’s advantage. And he gave undertakings not to.
The mortgage meltdown minister
Remember this is the same George Freeman who quit as science minister because he couldn’t afford his mortgage on a £118,300 salary.
Last January he moaned his mortgage jumped from £800 to £2,000 a month. “I simply couldn’t afford to pay on a ministerial salary,” he whinged.
The average UK salary is £29,600. But Freeman reckoned £118k wasn’t enough.
He blamed a “very painful divorce” and elderly parents for his money troubles. Said he was “three stone overweight, 30 years poorer.”
So what did he do? Quit government to chase the cash.
The £5k-a-month side hustle
Freeman became a paid adviser to GHGSat in April last year – just months after leaving his ministerial post. The deal ended in March this year.
Eight hours work a month. Five grand in the bank. Nice work if you can get it.
GHGSat says their agreement with Freeman “did not include any lobbying activities.” They’ve called him “George Foreman MP” in one statement – even they can’t get his name right!
Freeman claims: “Not only did GHGSat not ask or need me to raise their contract with UK government, my monthly retainer is for defined other services and specifically precludes – on my insistence and with their agreement – any lobbying.”
The police are involved
Freeman’s furious about the leaked emails. He’s reported it to the cops claiming they were “obtained and used unlawfully.
“This represents a major breach of personal and Parliamentary cyber security,” he said. “I am very concerned at the unauthorised and targeted access to my emails and diary.”
But that hasn’t stopped opposition MPs piling in.
Calls for suspension grow
Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper didn’t hold back: “This looks like the same old sleaze and scandal people have come to expect from the Conservative Party.
Kemi Badenoch should immediately suspend the whip from George Freeman.
The Tories are staying quiet. A party spokesperson said: “George Freeman MP has referred himself to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner. It would be inappropriate for the Conservative Party to comment further whilst the Commissioner’s inquiries are ongoing.
What happens next?
Freeman remains the MP for Mid-Norfolk – a seat he’s held since 2010. He was minister for science, research and innovation under Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.
The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner will now investigate. If they find he broke the rules, he could face sanctions.
Meanwhile Number 10’s made it clear – he’s suspended as trade envoy “until that process has been concluded.
Freeman says he tabled the questions “because I believed it to be in the public interest to highlight the opportunity for the UK and raise awareness of this sector in the new government.”
He added: “I also ticked the box on the written parliamentary questions form to signal I had an interest in the field.
The bigger picture
This is just the latest scandal to hit the Tories. Remember the Owen Paterson lobbying row? Or Matt Hancock’s COVID contracts?
Now we’ve got an MP who quit claiming he couldn’t survive on £118k getting caught in a cash-for-questions scandal while earning £5k a month on the side.
One angry commenter summed it up: “Truly pathetic: George Freeman quits as minister as he can’t pay his mortgage on the measly £118,300 plus expenses we pay him. Do these people know what the average wage is?”
Another joked: “George Freeman should stop buying avocados and cancel Netflix.
Freeman’s still claiming he’s done nothing wrong. Says he was just asking for “clarification on technical points and terminology.”
But the damage is done. Another day, another Tory scandal.
The investigation continues.
Image credit:
Official portrait of George Freeman. Photo by UK Parliament, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 3.0.
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