No ‘cash for questions’ investigation into former minister

Conservative MP George Freeman has been told he will not face a parliamentary standards investigation for lobbying.

The MP for Mid-Norfolk had referred himself to the standards commissioner in June, when claims emerged that a company that he worked for helped him write questions to government.

As a former science minister, Freeman had previously been advised that lobbying the Labour government could be a conflict of interests.

Freeman said he was “delighted” with the decision there were not sufficient grounds for a formal investigation and labelled the claims “unfounded”.

In a statement, he added: “The Commissioner has reiterated that the lobbying rules do not prohibit [MPs] asking [Parliamentary] Questions or advocating for sectors or issues of public interest, even where they themselves may have a financial interest, as long as the rules on registration and declaration are followed. As was the case with my Questions.”

The “cash for questions” allegations arose around Freeman’s role as an adviser for GHGSat, which owns and operates greenhouse gas monitoring satellites.

Claims that Freeman had consulted with the company’s director over “what to ask about” when submitting parliamentary questions first emerged in the Sunday Times.

In another email, he allegedly asked if the company could help him “get the wording right”, which he could then “convert into parliamentary language” for questions he was submitting related to space data and emissions tracking.

In a statement to the BBC at the time, Freeman said he did not believe he did anything wrong, while his party said it would be “inappropriate” to comment while inquiries were ongoing.

Freeman took up the role at the environmental monitoring company in April 2024, with the MP’s register of interests stating he received a monthly salary of £5,000 for eight hours work per month, before leaving the role in March this year.

After he notified appointments watchdog Acoba, about the role, it advised him he “should not become personally involved in lobbying the UK government” on behalf of GHGSat.

Freeman served as science minister under both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, and now sits on the science, innovation and technology committee.

The Conservatives and the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner have been contacted for comment.