NEW figures show Simon Reevell is earning almost as much as a part-time barrister as he is as an MP.

The Conservative received £64,000 in legal fees in 2011 – just £1,000 less than his salary for representing the people of Kirkburton, Denby Dale, Mirfield and Dewsbury in Parliament.

More than half of Mr Reevell’s barrister fees last year came from legal aid.

But the Dewsbury MP also worked for Northern Rail, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Armed Forces Criminal Legal Aid Authority.

According to Parliamentary records, Mr Reevell received a total of £64,032.32 for legal work in 2011, on top of his Parliamentary salary of £65,738.

Examiner reader Rhys Ellis of Lane Head Road in Shepley criticised his MP for taking on so much legal work.

“Does he not consider that representing the constituents of Dewsbury is a full-time job, or is £65,000 insufficient for his needs?

“If this is a problem for him perhaps we can help him decide his priorities at the next election,” he said.

But Mr Reevell last night defended his legal work, saying he took on cases in his spare time.

“I practice to a limited extent as a barrister where my time allows,” he said.

“I work as an MP for all the time which that role demands. Everyone has spare time and if I spend that time working as a barrister, I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

The backbencher added that he was not neglecting his Parliamentary duties.

He said: “There’s no actual suggestion that this has any impact on my work as an MP. No-one ever says ‘this guy is failing to do this aspect of his job properly’.”

The Conservative MP said the issue of his legal work was being used by his political opponents in the run-up to May’s Kirklees Council election.

“This is something that seems to get raised as we get nearer to the local elections,” he said.

Mr Reevell added that it was good that some members of Parliament also work outside Westminster.

“I’m all for MPs who have outside interests, it’s much better than having career politicians,” he said.

“We were run for over a decade by a bunch of career politicians – that’s the reason that we’re in the state we’re in.”

Mr Reevell declares his legal payments in line with House of Commons regulations.