The first register of MPs’ interests of the new parliament contained lots of interesting titbits from the legal sector. Labour MP David Lammy, now the foreign secretary, was paid £5,100 each time to give speeches for Black History Month at City firms Proskauer Rose and Freshfields. He spent four hours each time, including preparation. A nice little earner, that.
The only other MP to be asked to speak by a law firm was Labour’s Jess Philips, who appeared at Birmingham practice Tyndallwoods Solicitors. Her £1,000 fee was donated to a Birmingham domestic abuse charity.
Few legal businesses contributed directly to MPs’ successful election campaigns. Trade union firm Thompsons donated £2,000 for the fighting fund of Warinder Juss, duly elected to represent Wolverhampton West. But then it would – Juss was also a solicitor working for Thompsons.
Obiter’s favourite items in the register were from solicitor Sarah Bool, the new MP for South Northamptonshire. She received a final salary payment from her firm Forsters LLP and also declared a leaving gift worth £160. A carriage clock, perhaps. Or a top-of-the-range Teasmade (ask your gran, kids).
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