FORMER Oxford West and Abingdon MP Nicola Blackwood has been cleared to take new roles – but her experience must not be used to give her employers unfair advantage.

Mrs Blackwood was an MP from May 2010 until June 2017 and was advised by a Government body in October and November that she could take new roles. The papers were published last week.

The Office of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments approved roles as a part-time board member of the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE); a part-time paid job with Eagle Genomics, an IT consultancy; and another part-time paid position with Public Group International Limited (Public).

She was told there were no problems taking the jobs but with conditions to reduce any potential impression her employers were gaining an unfair advantage from her time as a minister for public health and innovation.

Working for Public, she must only research and write a research paper and not draw on ‘any privileged information’ which was available to her as a minister.

She was also told she should not lobby Government for her new employers for at least two years.