ONE of the district's MPs has hit back at criticism after analysis of a Government document showed he receives £1,000 a month for an extra role and received £16,660 last October from a sports and betting company.

Shipley MP Philip Davies has come under fire from a councillor in his constituency for his additional earnings alongside his wage as an MP.

Mr Davies declared in the Register of Members' Financial Interests 2021-22 for the House of Commons that he receives £1,000 per month as a Parliamentary Adviser on Pawnbroking to the National Pawnbroking Association (NPA).

This began on April 29 this year and will continue until further notice.

The MP undertakes five to 10 hours of work per month for the payment.

This latest document also features a one-off payment from GVC Holdings on October 29 last year for £16,660.

GVC Holdings, which rebranded as Entain in December 2020, is a sports betting and gambling company that owns the likes of Coral and Ladbrokes.

The payment was in return for 40 hours work, where Mr Davies provided advice on responsible gambling and customer service.

Councillor Marcus Dearden (Bingley, Lab) said: "When he's earning that much from the gambling industry in extra wages and freebies you have to ask whose interests he's serving down in Westminster, his constituents' or the gambling industry?"

But Mr Davies outlined the role with NPA is done in his own time and that people would not complain about his leisurely activities, such as watching Bradford City play football 10 hours every month.

He said: "I do have an extra paid role as an advisor to the National Pawnbroking Association.

"Apart from a smear, I'm still not entirely sure what the complaint is about it?"

Mr Davies also maintains that the extra work has no impact on his role as an MP, questioning whether people expect him to spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year dedicating his time to Government matters.

He said: "I'm a workaholic.

"Any one of my constituents will tell you, if they email, I reply the same day."

Mr Davies claims he is the only MP that does that and added he deals with all his emails himself.

Councillor Dearden also took issue with the various gifts and benefits Mr Davies has received, according to the latest Register of Members' Financial Interests document.

This includes tickets to large sporting events, such as a ticket and hospitality for the Euros 2020 Semi-Final between England and Denmark at Wembley on July 7 this year (worth £3,457) and tickets for two days (June 15 and 17) of Ascot Races early this year, one with hospitality and the other with a hospitality box (the former worth £750 and the latter £1,400).

These were all provided by Entain.

Mr Davies said: "If people ask me along to something, what's the harm in going?"

The MP is stoic in his stance that he has never changed his opinions having attended a sporting event and challenged anyone to demonstrate that has ever been the case.

Mr Davies alludes to a time when Channel 4 invited him to the Grand National and then he subsequently gave evidence against the TV company in an employment tribunal case.

He said: "That proves beyond any doubt being invited to sporting events does not make any difference to my opinion of things."

Meanwhile, John Burd, a resident of Baildon, raised concerns about Mr Davies's area of residency.

He said: "At the last election he gave his primary address as being in Cheshire, not Shipley. So we have an MP who doesn't live here and doesn't represent his constituents either. Shipley now has the equivalent of an absentee landlord for an MP. It's a complete disgrace."

But Mr Davies hit back and said he spent years in the local area.

He added: "I'm still in Shipley every week without fail, seeing constituents.

"I'm visiting a school tomorrow, surgery appointments, I still do that.

"My family still live in the constituency.

"My children still live in Baildon."

Mr Davies, who is married to Tatton MP Esther McVey, said: "The fact I've a wife that happens to be an MP as well, I'm the first MP in history who is being criticised for sleeping with his wife."