David Cameron and George Osborne are being paid tens of thousands of pounds each to make speeches for leading financial institutions at the World Economic Forum.

The former Prime Minister and Chancellor, who this time last year were leading figures at the forum, will this year only attend the fringes of the event held in Davos, including a number of parties and private dinners.

Mr Cameron is to give a speech at a dinner held by accounting firm PwC, while Mr Osborne will appear at an HSBC event for 20 clients.

The fees charged by them are understood to be "in the high five figures", plus travel and accommodation expenses.

Image: The summit is held in the Swiss resort of Davos

The former ministers are entitled to earn money from private appearances, though as a sitting MP Mr Osborne is bound to declare his earnings.


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They have both done numerous such events since leaving office, though eyebrows may be raised this time about the proximity to Theresa May, who also arrives in the Swiss resort on Wednesday to discuss Brexit at the full WEF.

Last autumn, it was revealed that the former Chancellor received £320,000 on top of his salary in the months after his departure from Number 11 for a number of speeches given in the US.

Image: A police sniper stands guard to protect high-profile delegates

Mr Cameron is understood to have commanded six-figure fees for some of his appearances for leading US financial institutions.

Although neither politician has broken any rules, some observers have called for a three-year ban on such fees after leading ministers have left office, so as to ensure there is no question about them standing up to big business during their tenancies.

Notably, in his final year in office, Mr Osborne cut the banking levy paid by major financial institutions, in what was seen as a bid to persuade HSBC to maintain its headquarters in the UK.

Senior Labour MP John Mann said: "Mr Osborne should be in parliament earning his salary as MP not grabbing huge fees for explaining his failures."