Getty
- EXCLUSIVE: Jeremy Corbyn is under investigation by the UK Parliament's sleaze watchdog.
- A Labour MP alleged that the former leader of the Labour Party failed to properly declare the financial support he had received.
- Corbyn is currently being sued for defamation.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
The former leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn MP, is under investigation by Parliament's sleaze watchdog over allegations he failed to properly declare financial support he receieved towards legal costs.
Corbyn has appeared on the list of allegations under investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, with the matter under investigation being a "registration of an interest under the Guide to the Rules".
Corbyn currently sits as an independent in the House of Commons after he was suspended from the Labour party, for comments he made last year.
The new probe was opened following an allegation made by Labour MP Neil Coyle, a long-time critic of Corbyn.
In a letter to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards earlier this year, Coyle claimed Corbyn may have benefitted from support to cover legal costs which he has not properly declared, Sky News reported in May.
Coyle told Sky News: "All MPs are expected to follow certain rules and some people seem to think they're above it.
"We expect it from Boris Johnson with flat refurbishments, childcare and foreign holidays. But we cannot attack the Tories if we don't equally take action when someone who seeks to be a Labour MP is receiving significant financial support and contributions, and not declaring it."
Corbyn told Sky News: "I will be liaising with the commissioner in response to Neil Coyle's correspondence."
Corbyn is currently being sued for defamation by the blogger Richard Millett. He could also face legal action from the BBC Panorama reporter John Ware.
Corbyn's entry on the register of members' interests notes he is "likely to benefit from a legal fund managed by JBC Defence Ltd which was set up on 16 October 2020 to help meet any legal costs which I or my supporters incur in relation to allegations of defamation."
One crowdfunding legal fund linked to JBC Defence Ltd has raised more than £370,000 since being set up in July 2020.
Insider has contacted Corbyn's office for comment.