IAN Blackford, the new SNP leader at Westminster, has made clear he will not be giving up his lucrative extra-parliamentary financial interests, which earn him almost £50,000 a year on top of his £75,000 MP’s salary.

Asked if, given he is leader of Britain’s third party, he would relinquish his paid and unpaid directorships to concentrate on his political work, the Highland MP stressed his outside activities were fully disclosed in the MP’s Register of Interests.

He told The Herald: “I have been a hard-working MP and I will continue to be so. I do think there is a benefit from MPs having experience of life. The fact that I have had interests in business are something, which have helped shape my ability to make sure I can deliver as an MP.”

When it was suggested that that was a No, he would not give up his outside interests, Mr Blackford replied: “I will always reflect on the challenges that are in front of me. These are not a distraction; these are matters that take up very little of my time.

“My priority is, firstly, to represent my constituency and, secondly, to represent the SNP here in Westminster as group leader and I work extremely hard to ensure that I deliver on both of those priorities.”

The issue of MPs’ outside interests has been a bone of contention for years. In 2015, Labour failed to get MPs’ second jobs banned.

At the time, Mr Blackford’s colleague Pete Wishart said MPs should have one master, declaring: “There should be no second jobs, no paid directorships, no outside interests with a financial return.”

According to the most recent update in the MPs’ register, published on May 2, Mr Blackford, a former investment banker, has, from December 2015, been paid £3,000 a month for eight hours’ work per quarter as Chairman of Golden Charter Trust Ltd, based in Bearsden with an additional £1,500 a day for any extra work undertaken.

He has also been paid £1,000 a month since July 2015 for eight hours’ work per quarter as Chairman of Commsworld Plc, based in Edinburgh. His shares in the company are valued at more than £70,000.

His entry also includes unpaid work as a director of the Edinburgh-based First Seer crofting business – he has a croft on Skye - and of New City Agenda, a not-for-profit financial research think-tank.

In addition, the entry says Mr Blackford’s investment portfolio is managed on a discretionary basis by Brooks MacDonald Plc.