Defending the Oligarchs

There was an interesting moment in Parliament yesterday when Bob Seely MP made use of Parliamentary privilege to call out lawyers who were working for Russian oligarchs.

Jim Waterson @jimwaterson

Well. This is spicy. Conservative MP Bob Seely makes the most of parliamentary privilege to name individual London lawyers working for Russian oligarchs and questions their morality.

The revelation caused more than a degree of consternation on ‘Legal Twitter’. Jolyon Maugham pointed out that one of the lawyers named, Hugh Tomlinson QC, was also involved in ensuring that MP’s expenses were published so that members of the public could see how members spend taxpayer money.

Jo Maugham @JolyonMaugham

The abuse of Parliamentary privilege brings Parliament into disrepute.

I think that, as usual, the question is a bit more nuanced than appears online.