Opik admits failing to declare PR income for three years

Mar 31 2008 by Martin Shipton, Western Mail

LEMBIT OPIK has made late declarations for a series of payments made to him by a public relations firm, he confirmed yesterday.

Mr Opik, the Liberal Democrat MP for Montgomeryshire, said he had notified the Register of Members’ Interests last week of money he received from the Luther Pendragon firm after a story appeared in the trade paper PR Week.

The payments were made to him for work he has done over the past three years.

PR Week’s story quoted the Luther Pendragon Agency partner Mike Grannatt as saying, “We employ him occasionally as a free- lance presentation trainer, largely to help train younger staff on the skills required, for example, during a pitch.

“For the sake of clarity, we have never used him for anything connected with his role as an MP, and nor would we.”

Grannatt confirmed that Opik was paid in cash, but said he had only been used “three or four times in total”.

The story goes on to state that no reference to payments received from Luther Pendragon appear on Mr Opik’s entry in the Register of Members’ Interests.

On its website, Luther Pendragon describes itself as a “strategic communications consultancy across the media, industry, the City and politics”.

Yesterday Mr Opik told the Western Mail, “I have done occasional work for Luther Pendragon based on my former work as a training and development manager for Procter & Gamble rather than my current work as an MP.

“I did not previously register the payments because I did not consider that the work I did for Luther Pendragon had any bearing on my role as an MP.

“However, on reflection, I have now decided it was appropriate to register the payments, and last week I sent a letter confirming they had been made to me.

“I am grateful to PR Week for drawing this matter to my attention.”

Mr Opik said the payments totalled around £2,400, and had been made to him not in cash but by cheque.

According to the introduction to the Register of Members’ Interests, “the purpose of the register is to encourage transparency, and through transparency, accountability”.

It is “to provide information of any pecuniary interest or other material benefit which a Member receives which might reasonably be thought by others to influence his or her actions, speeches or votes in Parliament, or actions taken in the capacity of a Member of Parliament.”

The introduction goes on to state that the obligation to register outside employment involving payment of more than £600 a year is “absolute”, although MPs are not expected to register the amount of their earnings except where they are “providing services in the capacity of a Member of Parliament”, for example making representations to government departments, providing advice on parliamentary or public affairs or sponsoring functions in parliamentary buildings.

Meanwhile, Mr Opik confirmed that on a recently recorded – but yet to be broadcast – episode of the popular TV show Mr & Mrs, he had refused to propose marriage to his Cheeky Girl partner Gabriela Irimia.

According to a report yesterday, Mr Opik “stunned the 300-strong audience with a stubborn refusal, when asked to get down on one knee by hosts Phillip Schofield and Fern Britton.”

One of the audience is quoted as saying, “It was so embarrassing. There was an awkward silence. Poor Gabriela didn’t know where to put herself when Lembit refused to ask her.”

Mr Opik told the Western Mail, “Some things are beyond the arena of light entertainment, and I think proposing marriage to your partner is one of those. To see what actually happened, people will have to wait until the show goes out on April 12.”