Watford MP Dean Russell has explained his £31,420 in declared donations, earnings, gifts, and other benefits.
The MP has said it is right that donations and earnings are made accessible to voters “to ensure complete transparency and accountability” after Sky News and Tortoise Media launched an interactive tool to “help the public better understand the money in politics”.
The tool shows that Mr Russell earned £15,050 for other work, from seven sources, on top of his basic annual salary of £84,144.
Dean Russell said: “All donations and earnings have been registered in line with the rules. It is right that such information, which has always been in the public domain, is made more accessible to the electorate to ensure complete transparency and accountability.
“It is also helpful for people to be able to easily examine how much funding is received by all MPs, political parties, and APPG's.”
The majority was from two sources. He earned £5,600 from work with Symanto Research GMBH & Co KG and £6,380 from work with Hult Ashridge Executive Education.
A spokesperson for the MP said: “The activity with Symanto and Hult relates primarily to activity in the days immediately following the election in 2019 when Dean was completing client work which he ended when elected.
“The minor additional Hult activity related to lectures given at Ashridge Business School which Dean had personally committed to prior to being an MP.
“He declared this in line with the rules and to ensure maximum transparency and accuracy on his records.
“Dean does not currently work in any other roles.”
He also received a total of £14,500 through three donations, from Watford & South West Herts Business Club, Stalbury Trustees, and IM Group.
Mr Russell’s office said he is a patron of the business club and added that Stalbury Trustees and IM Group donate to many Conservative Associations to provide campaign support.
Stalbury Trustees has donated a total of £131,000 across 29 Conservative MPs while IM Group donated to nine Tory MPs on top of £338,000 to the party.
- Watford MP Dean Russell discusses his second job
- Home Bargains reiterates desire to open in Watford
- Bushey developer Heronslea Ltd ordered to pay £732,000 bill
His office also highlighted that he has not once claimed “a single penny in personal expenses” since his election in 2019.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel