Jacob Rees-Mogg cleared by sleaze probe over £6m in cheap loans

Independent commissioner says matter was ‘solely’ connected to MP’s private life

Jacob Rees-Mogg thanked the commissioner for (PA Wire)

Tory frontbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg has been cleared of breaking parliamentary rules over £6 million he received in cheap loans.

Kathryn Stone, the independent parliamentary commissioner, announced the decision on Wednesday on parliament’s website, saying the full verdict will be published in “due course”.

Last month, Ms Stone was tasked with investigating claims that the leader of the Commons had breached paragraph 14 of the MP’s Code of Conduct, which obliges politicians to declare their financial interests in an “open and frank” manner.

Labour alleged the North East Somerset MP had fallen foul of this rule by not declaring millions of pounds in director’s loans from his property company Saliston Limited between 2018 and 2020.

Mr Rees-Mogg said he had paid interests on the loans, which he used to buy and renovate his London home.

Ms Stone ruled in his favour, informing him last week that the complaint had not been upheld. On Wednesday, she said the decision had been reached because she felt the loans were “connected solely” to his personal life and, as a result, would not have influenced his actions as an MP.

“Having considered the matter carefully, I have concluded that the evidence does not demonstrate that a breach of the rules has occurred,” she wrote.

Rees-Mogg tweeted on Wednesday that he was “grateful to the commissioner for swiftly rejecting this accusation”.

He added a quote from Shakespeare’s Othello: “Who steals my purse steals trash, but he that filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him, and makes me poor indeed.”

Earlier this year, Mr Rees-Mogg was involved in a failed Tory attempt to reduce the power of the commissioner’s office to investigate MPs.

The minister also played a hand in the government’s botched bid to allow Owen Paterson to avoid a month-long suspension, after the standards committee found the then Tory MP had breached lobbying rules.