UK politicians caught in ‘cash for access’ scandal
Print Edition
Two former British foreign ministers have been filmed offering their services to a fictitious Chinese firm in return for thousands of pounds, reigniting a damaging 2010 “cash for access” row just months before an election.
Malcolm Rifkind, a senior member of Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives, and Jack Straw, Labour’s foreign minister when Britain went to war in Iraq, denied any wrongdoing.
The allegations, made in an investigation by the Telegraph newspaper and Channel 4, echoed the 2010 scandal when three former ministers were filmed saying they could influence government policy for cash.
The report on Rifkind and Straw prompted opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband to call on Cameron to ban lawmakers from paid directorships and consultancy work.
In the footage, Rifkind says he has “useful” access to any ambassador, while Straw talks about how he worked “under the radar” to use his influence to change European Union rules.
Rifkind told the BBC that he had not accepted anything from the company and was not at the negotiating stage.
Potentially compounding a perception that some lawmakers are out of touch with the public, he said parliamentarians needed to be able to supplement their income — which is twice the national average wage — if they are to attract the right caliber of person to the job.
Straw, who is shown saying he normally charges about 5,000 pounds (US$7,700) a day for external work, told the BBC that he was “mortified by the fact that I fell into this trap.”
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