A MERSEY MP has quit his £30,000 "second job", ahead of a crackdown aimed at shining a light on the lucrative outside earnings enjoyed at Westminster.
George Howarth, the Knowsley North and Sefton East MP, has ended his role advising the bookmakers William Hill, which he took up as long ago as 2001.
The move comes just days before new rules will force all MPs to reveal exactly how much they are earning from private-sector work, as well as the hours they spend doing it.
Last week, Gordon Brown further stepped up the pressure, by revealing new anti-sleaze laws would threaten any MP failing to properly declare their “extracurricular earnings” with a one-year jail term.
Meanwhile, the senior salaries review board (SSRB) said it would consider whether to slash the backbench salary – currently £64,766 – of anyone considered to be a part-time MP.
Mr Howarth, who has already informed William Hill of his decision, said his job had never provoked any comment or criticism from people in his constituency.
But he said: "I had always worked on the principle that I would not do the job if it ever got in the way of representing my constituents, but it never has.
"However, in the current circumstances, I thought the best thing to do was to relinquish my outside interest, rather than leave any room for doubt. My first, and only, priority is my constituency. People who know me, know of my interest in horse-racing and sport in general, so it was an interesting job for me to do."
Other MPs in the region affected by the crackdown include Frank Field, Labour MP for Birkenhead, and Stephen O'Brien, the Eddisbury MP and a Conservative health spokesman.
