Six-jobs Andrew Mitchell and the MPs who are coining it in: Former Cabinet minister earns £182k from half a dozen consultancy jobs... and he is one of THIRTY politicians raking in thousands a year for extra work

 Former Cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell is paid £182,000 on top of his MP’s salary for six different consultancy jobs.

He is one of 30 MPs earning thousands of pounds extra a year for work as consultants – prompting calls for the practice to be banned.

The ex-international development secretary is paid for working for wealth manager Investec for two days a year and strategic consultancy Montrose Associates for eight days a year.

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Former Cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell (pictured) is paid £182,000 on top of his MP’s salary for six different consultancy jobs

He also advises consultants Ernst & Young for up to five days a year, investment managers Arch Emerging Markets Partners Ltd for 2.5 days, investment bank SouthBridge for nine days and private equity firm Kingsley Capital Partners for eight days.

Tory MP and former Cabinet minister Owen Paterson quit the Commons last week after a row over a report that found he committed an ‘egregious’ breach of a centuries-old ban on paid lobbying by MPs.

He repeatedly lobbied ministers and officials for two firms, Randox and Lynn’s Country Foods, that paid him more than £100,000 a year.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his party had ‘long called’ for the MPs’ code of conduct to ban ‘paid directorships and consultancy roles’ for serving members.

Sir Keir added: ‘A change along these lines has been recommended by the independent Committee for Standards in Public Life.’

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Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his party had ‘long called’ for the MPs’ code of conduct to ban ‘paid directorships and consultancy roles’ for serving members

Top 10 consultancy earners  

• Tory former chief whip Julian Smith earns £144,000 for three firms. He works for Ryze Hydrogen Ltd, Simply Blue Management, part of a marine project developer, and MJM Marine Ltd.
• Conservative former transport secretary Chris Grayling earns £100,000 advising operator Hutchison Ports Europe.
• Tory Mark Garnier earns £90,000 a year advising two companies. He works ten hours a month for Laser Light Communications, a start-up satellite company and ten hours a month for the Shetland Space Centre.
• Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey receives £78,000 for consultancy work for a law firm and energy company – although he says the funds benefit his disabled son. He works for Herbert Smith Freehills and Next Energy Capital.
• Tory ex-Cabinet minister Alun Cairns earns £60,000 advising BBI Group, a global life science firm, Veezu Holdings Ltd, a private hire transport platform, and Elite Partners Capital Pte Ltd, a global property investment firm.
• Tory MP Ruth Edwards earns £60,000 per year advising software company MHR International UK Ltd.
• Conservative former minister Stephen Hammond gets £60,000 a year working for Darwin Alternative Investments.
• Tory ex-minister Steve Brine earns a total £60,000 a year working for Remedium Partners, a healthcare recruiter, tech firm Microlink PC, as well as pharmaceutical company Sigma.
• Tory ex-cabinet minister David Davis receives £50,000 a year advising investment firm THI Holdings GmbH and Kohlgartenstrasse, a real estate company.
• Tory ex-energy minister Sir John Hayes earns £50,000 a year advising BB Energy Trading Ltd.