Taxi Driver Online

Alun Cairns lands taxi firm job paying £15k a year for an hour and 20 minutes a week

A Welsh MP will earn an extra £30,000 this year for doing less than 18 days of work.

Earlier in the year WalesOnline reported how former Wales secretary Alun Cairns was being paid £15,000 a year to advise Crumlin based BBI Group - a company producing coronavirus tests for the UK Government.

Since September Mr Cairns has also been employed in another role for Newport based company Veezu Holdings Ltd who run Amber Cars and Dragon Taxis.

For both of this roles Mr Cairns is being paid £15,000 a year for "up to 70 hours a year".

Over 52 weeks of the year, 70 hours works out as one hour 20 minutes a week.

In total, across the two jobs, he he is working less than 18 working days in total for £30,000 a year.

For both companies he is listed as a "senior adviser".

When WalesOnline approached Veezu to ask what exactly Mr Cairns would be doing to earn his enormous salary they did not provide any detail on his responsibilities.

A statement from the company said that 2020 has demonstrated "like no other year that a successful company needs to be agile and responsive".

Adding that they wanted to be "at the forefront of action" on environment, transport, sustainability, safe travel, and compliance".

The statement then said: "Alun Cairns is one of a number of advisors that supports us, playing a key role in enabling us to achieve industry-leading standards in our focus areas."

They then went back to talking about how their "agility" had helped them remain "a leading Welsh based company".

WalesOnline approached Mr Cairns himself to ask exactly what he was doing to earn his bumper pay cheque which is additional to the £81,932 he receives for being a full time Member of Parliament (which had fallen £40,000 since he was forced to leave the cabinet).

Mr Cairns said: "It is a privilege to play a part in supporting the UK's largest and most outward looking private hire company that is based in Wales and employs thousands of people across the country."

Mr Cairns resigned his position as Secretary of State for Wales last year after being accused of lying about his knowledge of the fact a Conservative candidate collapsed a rape trial.

Former ministers are not allowed to lobby the UK government for two years after leaving office. During this time they must seek permission from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments to accept a job.

The committee has ruled that Mr Cairns is allowed to take these appointments but could not lobby the Government on the companies behalf or advise the company on anything relating to work with the Government.

In March a WalesOnline investigation found that his election campaign last year was bankrolled with the help of a London property developer and a Ukrainian energy tycoon.

Mr Cairns also previously received two tickets for the Chelsea Flower Show in both 2011 and 2012 worth over £2,200 from a Japanese tobacco company.

This was at the same time he voted against a bill banning smoking in cars carrying children and vocally opposed plain packaging on cigarettes.

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IDFIMH

it's alright for some !

His job no doubt is to make sure government contracts go the right way !

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector