"The rules on business appointments are established to counter suspicion that the decisions and statements of a serving minister might be influenced by the hope or expectation of future employment with a particular firm or organisation, and that an employer could make improper use of official information to which a former minister has had access", he wrote. They will meet this Thursday on George Osborne's new role.

The MP for Tatton now has a total of six highly paid jobs including his constituency work, as editor of the Evening Standard, chair of the Northern Powerhouse partnership, an adviser to BlackRock, academic work as a Kissinger fellow in the United States, and an after-dinner speaking contract.

The comments came as the chairman of the country's chief standards watchdog said rules regarding MPs' second jobs may need to be reviewed, given Osborne's decision not to resign as MP for his Cheshire constituency, which is nearly 200 miles from London.

And overnight it was revealed the rules on MPs taking second jobs could be changed after his appointment, the chairman of the country's chief standards watchdog has said. "Now it seems to be getting into rockier waters".

"We are going to discuss whether rules on second jobs need to be changed in light of this".

"I think it is a great thing for the Evening Standard".

The newspaper announced Mr Osborne, who was educated at St Paul's School in Lonsdale Road, Barnes, before reading modern history at Magdalen College, Oxford, will edit the paper on average four days a week.

'He is a highly capable guy and it should make politics more interesting'.

However, he said his case raised the "issue of how much time MPs have to devote to their parliamentary work".

The backlash may prompt action by Parliament's Committee on Standards, including a review of the rules, according to Tommy Sheppard, who sits on the committee and is a senior member of the Scottish National Party.

His appointment as editor of the Evening Standard provoked "huge shock" in his constituency in Tatton, Cheshire, which is 200 miles away from London.

Those words are likely to send a chill down the spine of Theresa May and her Downing Street team who, I am told, were kept in the dark until the BBC's dramatic news break.

"I spent 10 years as a journalist and I've now spent six years as a politician and I'm not sure I could combine them both", she told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.

"I wouldn't be letting someone else do it and I just don't think it works. So, I'm not sure you can do both at the same time, if I'm honest".

Evgeny Lebedev defended his surprise choice for the role after criticism of the appointment from Labour and Conservative ranks.

"I am proud to be a Conservative MP, but as editor and leader of a team of dedicated and independent journalists, our only interest will be to give a voice to all Londoners".