Tory MP earning £250,000 moonlighting at firm part-owned by sanctioned Russians

17 November 2023 , 10:10

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Great Yarmouth MP Brandon Lewis is one of the highest earning MPs (Image: Getty Images)

Tory Sir Brandon Lewis is raking in £250,000-a-year by moonlighting for a firm part-owned by two sanctioned Russian oligarchs.

The former Conservative Party Chairman now has five paid jobs outside Parliament, earning him £400,000. He also gets a £86,584 salary as the MP for Great Yarmouth.

Sir Brandon last month started his role as a senior adviser for investment firm LetterOne. The company was founded by Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven who were put on the UK’s sanctions list following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The billionaire businessmen still own around half of the shares, although their stakes have been frozen.

Sir Brandon declared his quarter of a million pounds salary on the Commons register of interests. He also is paid £60,000-a-year to work for Thakeham Homes, £60,000-a-year by transport firm FM Conway and £30,000-a-year as an adviser to Civitas Investment Management. He has the use of a company car, worth £10,000-a-year, as director of Woodlands Schools.

Labour Party Chair Anneliese Dodds said: "Quite why any MP needs to take these kinds of outside jobs is unclear, let alone working for a company part-owned by sanctioned Russian oligarchs. Great Yarmouth deserves better than a part-time MP making eye-watering sums from outside jobs. Labour would clean up politics by banning second jobs for MPs."

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Sir Brandon was first elected in 2010. He served as Party Chairman, Northern Ireland Secretary and then Justice Secretary, but resigned from Cabinet when Rishi Sunak became PM.

In a statement after he was appointed Chair of LetterOne’s Advisory, Sir Brandon said: “LetterOne has travelled a huge distance since Putin’s abhorrent invasion of Ukraine. It is now wholly separate from its sanctioned founders and focused on investments that are vital for society, as well as being one of the biggest corporate donors of aid to Ukraine. I hope I will be able to contribute to their continued commitment to outstanding governance which will establish LetterOne as a strengthened, independent business with a sustainable approach to growth, impact investing and building businesses that matter.”

LetterOne’s assets include the health foods retailer Holland & Barrett.

John Stevens