Jess Phillips Investigated for Late Interest Registration

Jess Phillips, the Home Office minister and MP for Birmingham Yardley, is under investigation by Parliament's standards watchdog for failing to register an interest on time, marking the third such investigation in nearly three years. MPs are required to register interests, including non-parliamentary income, within 28 days, a rule Phillips has breached multiple times. In previous investigations, she was found to have late registered income from various sources on 18 occasions, which were deemed 'inadvertent' breaches. Despite being referred to the Commons Standards Committee for a minor breach after registering a lecture payment two days late, no further action was taken against her. The standards commissioner has criticized her 'casual attitude' towards the register of interests. Currently, there are four ongoing investigations into other MPs for similar breaches.