A former minister has likened the row over sleaze and MPs' second jobs with the expenses scandal that rocked Westminster over a decade ago, but suggested it will result in more clarity over "grey areas".

       Yesterday Boris Johnson was forced to use his Cop26 press conference to say the UK is "not remotely a corrupt country", amid ongoing allegations around paid lobbying, and code of conduct-breaching outside work.

       Jeremy Hunt, the former foreign secretary, told BBC Radio 4 that the widespread coverage of the row demonstrated "the strength of our democracy".

       He added: "I think one of the things that will come out of this is more clarity - just as we ended up after the expenses scandal - over some of the rules where there is a grey area.

       "We know you’re not allowed to do private business from your room in parliament but what happens if you take a call - is that allowed is that not allowed," he added. "I think we will get more clarity over these things, which we need."

       Paul Scully, the small business minister, told Sky News the claims are "really regrettable" as they "just damage trust in parliamentarians".

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       MPs spending a "huge amount of time" on a second job will not be able to fulfil their duties to constituents, Lord Evans has said.

       The chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life said: "The critical thing is that nothing that an MP does should get in the way of their ability to work in support of their constituents - so the amount of work they do, the sort of work, needs to be judged against that.

       "If somebody is spending a huge amount of their time on a second job, then they can't be maintaining support for their constituents."

       He told BBC Radio 4's |Today programme it was not a question of how much MPs earn from their second job, but rather being "clear that the MP who has been elected by their constituents, that their main focus, their main priority is on being the best MP that they can be".

       He added: "And that takes time and that takes concentration."

       The UK must maintain the "independent scrutiny of standards" or risk "falling down into a corrupt system", Lord Evans has warned.

       The chairman of the committee on standards in public life told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the UK does not "have a corrupt state, a corrupt public life", but said democracy was only maintained by "each generation".

       He added: "We need to continue to be vigilant on these issues. There are a lot of countries around the world that are corrupt, some quite close in geography to us.

       "We don't want to go down that route but we need to be continually vigilant and ensure we are upholding independence and very clear standards."

       MPs should be able to have second jobs but "paid advocacy and the like ... needs to be absolutely stamped out", a business minister has said.

       Paul Scully told LBC Radio: "I think it is right that MPs are able to have second jobs but it is what the second jobs are that is really key, because you get lots of examples where lawyers still practise and they can bring that experience back to the legislation we are bringing forward and they are scrutinising.

       "You have people in public service that are still practising as nurses, dentists and doctors, you have people in business which allows them to bring a business acumen and experience to bear in economic situations.

       "But wrongdoing - paid advocacy and the like - needs to be absolutely stamped out."

       Social care workers have been given "plenty of warning" to get their Covid vaccine before the mandatory jab policy kicked in today, a minister has said.

       Paul Scully told Sky News: "I think there is a level of expectation. They have had 12 weeks to have their vaccination. I would hope and expect that those people would have that duty of care to the people they are there to serve and protect - those people, the most vulnerable in our society, the people who are most likely to be hospitalised and, I'm afraid, to die of Covid.

       "That's what that measure has been all about and that's why we're determined to make sure that continues."

       Asked if unvaccinated care workers should be turned away for work as of Thursday, Mr Scully replied: "I'm not sure it is a matter of people being turned away at the door.

       "It is something that has happened over the last 12 weeks that people in social care have had plenty of warning about and I would hope that they would have gone out and got those vaccinations just to keep the people that they work for safe."

       A minister has warned political rivals they risk being drawn into sleaze allegations as the row "widens out".

       Paul Scully, the small business minister, told Sky News there was a "series of accusations that people are conflating with Owen Paterson".

       He added: "It does widen out to other parties - we have seen issues like Keir Starmer making money from giving legal advice hasn’t said who he is giving legal advice to."

       Mr Scully also pointed to the consultancy work done by Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, adding "This just damages trust in parliamentarians."

       However despite making these claims, he went on to suggest MPs "tackle this in a level-headed way and certainly not to get into a party political bun fight."

       A Government minister has refused to defend Sir Geoffrey Cox for voting by proxy from the British Virgin Islands and said the standards row had been "regrettable".

       Asked about the MP's use of remote voting Paul Scully, the small business minister, said: "I'm not going to defend Geoffrey or say anything - that's up to Geoffrey, it is between him and his voters."

       Asked whether he could see that the "optics were not good" in relation to the second jobs debate, Mr Scully replied: "Absolutely, I can see how it looks.

       "It is really regrettable that we've got to this situation."

       The Defence Secretary is to complain to the leaders of Labour and the SNP after three MPs were "drinking heavily" on their way to an official visit to Gibraltar.

       Ben Wallace said the MPs showed “a lack of respect for the enduring work of our Armed Forces” and risked “undermining respect for Parliament” after drinking on a plane carrying MPs, defence staff and members of the public.

       Charlotte Nichols, a Labour MP, and the SNP MPs David Linden and Drew Hendry were said to have been drinking before and during the British Airways flight from Heathrow to Gibraltar on Tuesday.

       It is claimed that when the flight landed, Ms Nichols required a wheelchair to get from the baggage reclaim to a military minibus, while Mr Linden and Mr Hendry were “lairy” and “rude” when their Covid passes did not work at the airport gates.

       Allegations over sleaze and second jobs abound this morning - but is any of it sticking?

       Certainly there is more than a little consternation that the Prime Minister was forced to use his Cop26 press conference last night to stress the UK was not a corrupt country.

       But the allegations are widening out to include MPs from other parties - meaning more fingers could get burned.

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