Questions have been raised over a York MP’s register of interests.
But Julian Sturdy says he has abided by all the rules.
Labour Party member Luke Charters has written to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone, asking her to investigate Mr Sturdy, who is the Conservative MP for York Outer.
Mr Charters is hoping to be Labour’s parliamentary candidate challenging for the York Outer seat at the next election, as he did in 2017.
He is raising several points with the commissioner.
The first concerns a member of staff employed by Mr Sturdy who was listed as having ‘no’ interests. But Mr Charters says he was actually an undeclared director of a cleaning firm.
He also questions whether Mr Sturdy’s register of interest is up to date and accurate.
“Mr Sturdy’s register of interest was last updated in 2015. Seven years and two General Elections, and several parliamentary sessions have passed since this time,” he writes.
Neighbouring MPs have updated their registers: “Can it therefore be clarified why the register has not been updated since 2015?”
‘No further benefit’
Finally, the register says Mr Sturdy is a director in the family firm GE Sturdy & Son, from which he declares a £6K yearly income. Mr Charters writes: “Can it be clarified whether Mr Sturdy has received any profits from GE Sturdy and Son in the seven years since the interest was filed?”
He told YorkMix: “I stood against Julian Sturdy in 2017, who’s now been York Outer’s MP for over 12 years.
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“He has achieved very little for the area and is rarely seen by residents. Julian Sturdy should be more transparent about his business dealings, and there are questions over his former staff’s interests.
“I am determined to hold the ‘nowhere to be seen MP’ to account.”
Mr Sturdy told us: “I am happy to confirm that my register of interests is accurate and I have received no further benefit, financial or otherwise, from GE Sturdy and Son. I would of course update the record as soon as possible if this was to change.
“I ensure that all my staff are aware of the need to register any outside employment or gifts, in line with the rules given by House authorities.”
Regarding the member of staff not registering their cleaning firm directorship, Mr Sturdy said that the register of interest “requires the employment to be any way advantaged by the privileged access to Parliament afforded by your pass”.
And he did not see this member of staff’s “interest in a Whitby-based cleaning company as a registerable interest and this was confirmed at the time by the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards”.
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