South Antrim MP William McCrea dedicated around 30 hours a week last year to his second job as a Free Presbyterian minister.

Mr McCrea picked up £25,000 in 2014 for his role as minister of Calvary Free Presbyterian Church in Magherafelt - on top of his £67,060 a year pay packet as an Member of Parliament.

A Daily Telegraph investigation placed Mr McCrea third on the league table of MPs who spend a significant amount of time doing second jobs.

In total, it was revealed that MPs declared earnings from outside work and second jobs of more than £7.4 million in the past year, with some making more than £1,600 per hour.

Official data confirmed that 30 Members earned at least the equivalent of an MP's £67,000 salary in extra work.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown declared additional income of close to £1m.

In total, MPs spent more than 26,600 hours on non-parliamentary duties.

The list was topped by Conservative MP Geoffrey Cox, a practising barrister, who earned £820,867 for his second job which he dedicated 1,954 hours to in 2014. Second on the list was Conservative MP Stephen Dorrell, who worked 1,736 hours in his second job.

Next was Mr McCrea, who spent 1,560 hours working in his second job.

According to the Westminster declaration of interests, he is paid £364 per week as minister, and also receives £120 a week rent allowance for his Manse.

A DUP spokesman said, by its very nature, much of his church work is in the evenings and at the weekend. "However, the two roles are indicative of his commitment to serving others and being an advocate for the electorate," he said. "His work rate in the constituency is second to none with full time offices and dedicated staff."

Meanwhile the latest Westminster register of interests, updated on Feburary 9, reveals that some local MPs have a number of other sources of income.

Upper Bann MP David Simpson declared a directorship of the Universal Meat Company in Portadown. He said he acted in an advisory role for the company, dealing with banks, and received quarterly payments of £3,000. He also said he received undisclosed rental incomes from farmlands in Portadown and Dungannon.

North Antrim MP Ian Paisley declared a column he writes for the Sun newspaper. Mr Paisley received £200 payments on February 17, 2014, March 3 and March 17 for columns. He declared he had spent one hour on each of the first two and 40 minutes on the last one.

Strangford MP Jim Shannon declared 20 acres land and farm at Ballygarvin and a part share in a holiday home in the US.

South Belfast MP Alasdair McDonnell declared he received undisclosed rental income from a farm in Antrim, a house in Belfast and a flat in London and that he is part owner of Ormeau Health Centre and an adjacent property at Lower Ormeau Road, Belfast, from which rental income is received.

East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson and East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell are elected to the Assembly as well as Westminster.

Factfile

MPs are paid a basic salary of £67,000, this is set to rise to £74,000 after the general election in May. The Speaker, Government ministers and chairs of committees receive an extra salary. MPs also receive expenses to cover the costs of running an office, employing staff, having somewhere to live in London and in their constituency, and travelling between Parliament and their constituency.

Belfast Telegraph