UK legal firms employ 15 Lords and four MPs as consultants for as much as £61,000 a year, a Gazette investigation has found.

Although the relationships are above board and break no rules, parliamentary activity is likely to come under scrutiny amid calls for tighter regulation of lobbying.

MPs were due yesterday to hold a debate on lobbying in Whitehall and Westminster. In January, the Public Administration select committee called for a statutory register of lobbying activity, including by legal firms.

(See City)