People

Finance firms hand MPs nearly £500,000 for speeches in lucrative year 

Former prime minister Rishi Sunak and ex-chancellor Jeremy Hunt have made side hustles out of City speaking engagements

image
Former prime minister Rishi Sunak has spoken at Bain Capital and Makena Capital this year Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images

Financial and professional services firms have paid out almost half a million pounds in speaking fees for MPs this year, in a sign of close ties between Westminster and the City.

Five MPs generated a combined £485,853 across 15 speaking engagements organised by groups including banks, asset managers and law firms in the year to mid-November, according to a Financial News analysis of official records.

WSJ Logo