Lindsay Hoyle was last night embroiled in a new row after recruiting a former lobbyist who gave him several all-expenses-paid junkets.
The Commons Speaker appointed Albert Poggio as an adviser and gave him a parliamentary pass, allowing him access to Commons libraries, bars and restaurants and the highest-ranking politicians and officials in Westminster.
While Gibraltar’s representative in London, Mr Poggio, 79, arranged several trips for Sir Lindsay and other MPs to ‘the Rock’.
It comes amid deepening questions about the Speaker’s other foreign jaunts, which have left taxpayers to pick up a £250,000 bill in the past two years alone.
The appointment of Mr Poggio, a Gibraltarian businessman and political consultant, was never publicly announced but he is listed as the ‘Speaker’s Adviser on OTs (overseas territories)’ in pamphlets produced by Sir Lindsay’s office and unearthed by the Mail.
The Speaker’s office confirmed Mr Poggio was made an adviser in 2021 and that it provided him with a pass, which he is said to use regularly.
It is not suggested that Mr Poggio has done anything wrong.
Critics last night said it was ‘hard to see’ why the appointment was necessary and questioned whether it was ‘payback’ for the lavish jaunts.
+10 View gallery
The Commons Speaker appointed Albert Poggio (pictured) as an adviser and gave him a parliamentary pass
+10 View gallery
Pictured: Sir Lindsay Hoyle (far left) and Albert Poggio (far right)
+10 View gallery
Mr Poggio was given access to Commons libraries, bars and restaurants and the highest-ranking politicians and officials in Westminster (stock image)
A spokesman for the Speaker said: ‘We absolutely refute any suggestion or implication of impropriety.’
One four-day trip Sir Lindsay and nine other MPs attended in February 2002 included ‘dolphin safaris’ and tax-free shopping. It was part of a £1million lobbying campaign lavished on MPs and peers by Mr Poggio, who was the Gibraltar government’s representative in London for 28 years before retiring in 2016.
He invited MPs to ‘the Rock’ to push the case for it to remain British, without interference from Spain.
Sir Lindsay enjoyed 11 trips to the territory as an MP, dating back as far as 1998, before becoming the Commons Speaker in 2019.
Former Tory Cabinet minister David Jones said: ‘It is hard to see why the Speaker should need an adviser on the Overseas Territories. There is a fund of support available within the Overseas Territories Association, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, as well as the Commons Library.
‘The Speaker should therefore explain precisely what Mr Poggio’s duties are, the terms of his contract and the benefits he enjoys under that contract.’
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘The Speaker’s activities only grow more dubious with each new revelation.
‘The Speaker must surely realise that the only way to put these issues to bed is to be open and transparent.’
Sir Lindsay enjoyed 11 trips to Gibraltar as an MP, dating back as far as 1998, before becoming the Commons Speaker in 2019
The official portrait of the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle
+10 View gallery
Figures obtained by the Mail revealed Hoyle (pictured) spent an extraordinary £180,000 on airfares
Speaker slaps down Kemi Badenoch for suggesting PM ‘mislead’ MP’s
The Mail last week revealed how Sir Lindsay has billed taxpayers more than £250,000 in foreign travel expenses since October 2022. This included £180,000 on business and first-class flights because he won’t fly economy.
He has claimed nearly £16,000 in expenses for four trips to the Rock since becoming Speaker as he is the chancellor of the University of Gibraltar.
Sir Lindsay’s office has said all expenses incurred come as part of his ‘responsibility to explain and promote the work of the House’. But, amid calls for an investigation, critics say his chancellor role has nothing to do with his Commons job and taxpayers should not foot the bill.
Mr Poggio’s X social media profile featured several pictures of himself with Sir Lindsay, including campaigning for him to win his Chorley seat in Lancashire during several elections.
He has also been snapped alongside several prominent politicians, including former Tory leaders David Cameron and William Hague.
Mr Poggio’s profile picture was apparently taken in the Speaker’s House, Sir Lindsay’s grace-and-favour home on the Parliamentary estate. The profile was deleted after the Mail put several questions to the Speaker’s office this week.
In January 2006, Sir Lindsay tabled a motion in the Commons which celebrated Mr Poggio receiving an OBE for the ‘huge amount of time and energy’ he spent fostering UK-Gibraltar relations and for establishing ‘excellent relations’ with MPs.
He is a long-standing friend of Sir Lindsay and his ex-MP late father Lord Hoyle, who also provided a ‘research assistant’ pass to Mr Poggio in the noughties.
+10 View gallery
The Speaker’s office confirmed Mr Poggio (pictured) was made an adviser in 2021 and that it provided him with a pass, which he is said to use regularly
On his trip to Australia, for a January 2023 conference, Hoyle (pictured) was billeted amid the ‘exquisite rooms and spacious suites’ of the five-star Hotel Realm
The Mail’s revelations about Hoyle’s spending have outraged MPs. Pictured: Hoyle
Staff at the haunts in Gibraltar frequently visited by Sir Lindsay and Mr Poggio said they appeared to be close friends.
The Speaker’s favourite hotel is The Rock, and he is a familiar face at the Caffe Botega – a short taxi ride away in Parliament Lane off Main Street.
A member of staff, anxious not to lose the trade of his influential customers, said on being shown Sir Lindsay’s picture: ‘He’s a good customer – I’ve served him several times when he’s come in with Albert Poggio.
‘I assume they’re discussing tourism to Gibraltar, but the Englishman is clearly a good friend of Poggio.’
A staff member at The Rock Hotel said: ‘They’d have some meals here at Alfred’s [restaurant], and drinks in the bar – but they go out a lot too, being wined and dined by the Gibraltar government even when not having bills paid by the UK.’
A spokesman for the Speaker said yesterday: ‘In 2021, Mr Poggio became an unpaid adviser to the Speaker on Gibraltar and the British Overseas Territories, due to his long-standing expertise in this area.
‘He has never been remunerated for this role or claimed any expenses from the Speaker’s office. In order to carry out these duties, the Speaker sponsored a parliamentary pass for Mr Poggio.’
Mr Poggio was unavailable for comment.