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Politicians clash over second jobs row

Ed Miliband has called on David Cameron to ban MPs from having second jobs "to restore the reputation of this house" following recent allegations against two former foreign secretaries.

Tory MP Sir Malcolm Rifkind is to step down as an MP at the General Election and has also resigned as chairman of the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, he said.

Sir Rifkind and Jack Straw were both suspended from their parties after they were secretly filmed allegedly offering to use their positions and contacts to benefit a private company in return for cash. Both men deny any wrong-doing.

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Jack Straw 'mortified' after cash-for-access claims

Straw said the discussions filmed by Channel 4 related to potential work after his impending retirement as an MP. Credit: Channel 4 Dispatches/Telegraph

Jack Straw has said he is "mortified by the way I fell into this trap" after being filmed by investigative reporters posing as staff of a Chinese company, but insisted he had not acted improperly.

The former Labour home and foreign secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he had been "absolutely scrupulous" in regards to the rules on outside interests and was discussing potential work after he retires as an MP.

Asked if he should have asked that the conversation be delayed until after his parliamentary role had ended, Straw admitted: "I should have done [...] it would have saved a fantastic amount of trouble."

He also said he believed that current rules dictating MPs' income outside of their parliamentary roles were "satisfactory", but accepted that others - including his own party leader Ed Miliband - disagreed.

After the Channel 4 Dispatches film showed Straw saying he had operated "under the radar", the Blackburn MP said he meant that he raised matters politely, rather than running a public or confrontational campaign.

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Politicians clash over second jobs row

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