"Freeman said he was "delighted" with the decision there were not sufficient grounds for a formal investigation and labelled the claims "unfounded". In a statement, he added: "The Commissioner has reiterated that the lobbying rules do not prohibit [MPs] asking [Parliamentary] Questions or advocating for sectors or issues of public interest, even where they themselves may have a financial interest, as long as the rules on registration and declaration are followed. As was the case with my Questions.""
"The "cash for questions" allegations arose around Freeman's role as an adviser for GHGSat, which owns and operates greenhouse gas monitoring satellites. Claims that Freeman had consulted with the company's director over "what to ask about" when submitting parliamentary questions first emerged in the Sunday Times. In another email, he allegedly asked if the company could help him "get the wording right", which he could then "convert into parliamentary language" for questions he was submitting related to space data and emissions tracking."
Conservative MP George Freeman will not face a parliamentary standards investigation after he referred himself to the standards commissioner in June. Claims said a company he worked for helped him write parliamentary questions to government. Freeman had previously been advised that lobbying the Labour government could create conflicts of interest. The commissioner reiterated that lobbying rules do not prohibit MPs asking Parliamentary Questions or advocating for sectors even when they have a financial interest, provided registration and declaration rules are followed. Allegations focused on Freeman's advisory role at GHGSat and emails about consulting the company's director on wording and converting it into parliamentary language. Freeman declared a monthly salary of 5,000 for eight hours work per mont.
Read at www.bbc.com
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