Commons Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone’s workload has just got a lot bigger, as she announces a formal investigation into David Warburton. The announcement on the parliamentary website spells out the probe will look into the allegations revealed by the Sunday Times, claiming he took a £100,000 loan from a Russian businessman without declaring it. A claim Gabriel Pogrund correctly predicted could lead to an investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards…

“Warburton knew about Joukovski’s past problems with the [Financial Conduct Authority], but took the loan via an offshore entity linked to the businessman’s family trust. He later brought the Russian-born British citizen into the Palace of Westminster and used his parliamentary email address to organise meetings for Joukovski, including one with Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexit opportunities secretary, who was a backbencher at the time in 2017. According to a source with direct knowledge of the transaction, Warburton has since repaid the money at high levels of interest.”

The Commissioner’s announcement specifies the investigation will look into “Paid advocacy, Declaration of an interest, and Registration of an interest under Category 3 of the Guide to the Rules [Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources]”.

He joins Sir Keir, David Lammy, Andrew Bridgen and Chris Philp on Stone’s to-do list… 

Hat-tip: James Heale