ALMOST two years ago, this newspaper reported on the fact that Bill Wiggin, the MP for North Herefordshire, was earning extra income from a finance company in the Atlantic Ocean.

Many readers rightly questioned the reasons why someone earning far more than the average employee as a politician would seek to boost an already-impressive salary by working with a company that helps the world’s richest to manage their tax bills in a more efficient manner.

There is no suggestion that Emerging Asset Management is doing anything illegal and politicians like Mr Wiggin are rightly free to choose to invest their time and money in such companies if they so please.

But surely many can – and will – argue that Mr Wiggin’s choice is a poor one when, at a time, that many are still feeling the pinch of austerity and the NHS needs every penny it can get from the exchequer that an elected Government representative should seek to bolster his basic MP’s salary of £74,962 by helping others to “start hedge funds in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands”.

Perhaps there is no need for Mr Wiggin to respond to questions from this newspaper and explain just why he chooses to work for such companies because the Conservative politician can point to this year’s General Election result – and his extended majority – as real proof that the electorate care not a jot for where he chooses to invest his time.

The verdict will, no doubt, come in the future at the ballot box.

The choice is yours.