Alan Duncan has signed a lucrative £96,000-a-year deal with a controversial oil firm linked to dictators and war criminals. The Tory MP has been appointed non-executive chairman of Fujairah Refining, the jewel in the crown of global energy company Vitol. He will be paid £8,000-a-month for an annual commitment of 156 hours. He’s struck oil!

Vitol might ring bells for some readers, it is a $300 billion energy trading company which runs oil exploration projects in corrupt, authoritarian countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Duncan will already know that, having made his money as an oil trader before he came to parliament. He’ll also know that Vitol has been mired in scandals over deals with Serbian war criminals and the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein. More recently the company faced allegations over its links to the dodgy Libyans and sanctions-busting dealings with the Iranian government.

Duncan says he consulted the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments before accepting the role. Kerching!