Jess Phillips avoids sanction despite again failing to declare payment on time

Labour frontbencher Jess Phillips has avoided sanction by Parliament’s Standards Committee after failing to register a financial interest by the deadline for the second time in a year.

The shadow safeguarding minister declared a payment of £1,000 for giving a lecture at Bristol University in October 2022 two days after the 28-day deadline set by the Commons.

The parliamentary Standards Commissioner said Ms Phillips had breached the MPs’ Code of Conduct in a “relatively minor way” but warned that repeatedly treating the register “in a casual and inattentive fashion is a serious matter”.

This case underlines the need for members to submit their complete registrations in good time

The Birmingham Yardley MP was reprimanded last year for failing to register a number of outside earnings including for a guest appearance on the TV show Have I Got News For You before the deadline, which she claimed was an administrative oversight.

Ms Phillips said she had tried to declare the University of Bristol payment on time but that she had omitted the amount, which the registrar did not alert her to until two days later.

“I hope you can see that it was completely my intention to make the declaration within the timeframe and ordinarily I would have done it well before. It was as I hope you can see a simple error in including the amount,” she said.

The commissioner said: “Although this is a relatively minor breach, I am referring it to the Committee on Standards because it occurred less than six months after rectification by Ms Phillips of a number of late registrations of financial interests.

“A casual attitude to the register is unacceptable, and accordingly I consider it right to refer this breach to the committee.”

The committee recommended no further action against the MP, but added: “This case underlines the need for members to submit their complete registrations in good time.”