A COMPLAINT raised against Jacob Rees-Mogg about loans he received from a company he owns has been dismissed by the parliamentary commissioner for standards.

Commissioner Kathryn Stone cleared Mr Rees-Mogg of wrongdoing after a probe into director's loans worth £6 million borrowed from his company, Saliston Limited, between 2018 and 2020.

She closed her inquiry yesterday after concluding "the evidence does not demonstrate that a breach of the rules has occurred" and ruled the loans "were connected solely to your private and personal life". 

Ms Stone also ruled the loans could not "reasonably be thought by others to influence your actions, speeches or votes in Parliament, or your actions taken in your capacity as a Member of Parliament". 

The standards commissioner also said "no breach of paragraph 14" of the code of conduct for MPs had taken place.

Paragraph 14 of the code says MPs must declare earnings as a director or employee for organisations outside of Parliament, including "taxable expenses, allowances and benefits such as company cars".

In a tweet, Commons leader and North East Somerset MP Mr Rees-Mogg said: "I am grateful to the Commissioner for swiftly rejecting this accusation."

Quoting Shakespeare's Othello, he added: "Who steals my purse steals trash… but he that filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him and makes me poor indeed."

The investigation was launched on November 29 after the Labour Party called for Ms Stone to follow up on claims made in the Mail On Sunday that Mr Rees-Mogg failed to declare low-interest director’s loans from Saliston.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner also wrote to Lord Geidt, the independent adviser on ministers' interests, over the matter.

In her letter, Ms Rayner said that failing to declare director’s loans worth up to £2.94 million a year "allowed Mr Rees-Mogg to borrow a large sum of money at a very low interest rate" and argued it "should have been declared".

Thangam Debbonaire, shadow leader of the House of Commons, said not declaring the loans was an "egregious breach of the rules".

At the time, Mr Rees-Mogg responded by saying his ownership of Saliston is "declared clearly in the Commons register and to the Cabinet Office".

He added Saliston "has no activities that interact with government policy".

Mr Rees-Mogg said: "The loans from 2018 were primarily taken out for the purchase and refurbishment of 7 Cowley Street as temporary cashflow measures.

"All loans have either been repaid with interest in accordance with HMRC rules or paid as dividends and taxed accordingly."