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| Owen Paterson: Government faces backlash over new conduct rules plan | Owen Paterson: Government faces backlash over new conduct rules plan |
| (31 minutes later) | |
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| Tellers announce the votes to change the rules which are backed by a majority of MPs, while "shame" is shouted from the benches | Tellers announce the votes to change the rules which are backed by a majority of MPs, while "shame" is shouted from the benches |
| The government is facing a furious backlash after it voted to change rules on the way MPs' conduct is policed - blocking the suspension of one of its own former ministers. | The government is facing a furious backlash after it voted to change rules on the way MPs' conduct is policed - blocking the suspension of one of its own former ministers. |
| Owen Paterson was found to have broken lobbying rules, but said he was not given the chance to clear his name. | Owen Paterson was found to have broken lobbying rules, but said he was not given the chance to clear his name. |
| His Tory allies called for a shake-up of the standards watchdog and won the vote thanks to government backing. | His Tory allies called for a shake-up of the standards watchdog and won the vote thanks to government backing. |
| But Labour said the government was "wallowing in sleaze". | But Labour said the government was "wallowing in sleaze". |
| All opposition parties have refused to take part in any new standards system the government sets up. | |
| Labour also accused Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng of trying to "bully" the standards commissioner, Kathryn Stone, out of her job. | |
| He told Sky News it was "difficult to see what the future of the commissioner" was and it was up to her to "consider [her] position". | |
| Shadow leader of the House, Thangam Debbonaire, said the prime minister "must immediately distance himself from these latest attempts to poison British politics", adding: "All decent people of all political beliefs must stand against these naked attempts by Tory MPs to avoid scrutiny of their behaviour." | |
| The office of the commissioner who oversees the process said Ms Stone would not be resigning. | |
| What is lobbying? A brief guide | What is lobbying? A brief guide |
| Anger as Tory MP Owen Paterson avoids suspension | Anger as Tory MP Owen Paterson avoids suspension |
| Tories may regret Owen Paterson rule change move | Tories may regret Owen Paterson rule change move |
| Writing in the Guardian, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Tory MPs had voted "to let off one of their own". | |
| The chair of the Commons Standards Committee, Labour's Chris Bryant, also compared the action to what would happen in Russia. | |
| But Mr Kwarteng defended the government and his party, saying they were "completely focused on trying to restore a degree of integrity and probity in public life". | |
| The committee - made up of MPs from all sides and lay members - had recommended that Mr Paterson be banned for 30 sitting days after being found to have misused his position as an MP to benefit two firms he worked for. | The committee - made up of MPs from all sides and lay members - had recommended that Mr Paterson be banned for 30 sitting days after being found to have misused his position as an MP to benefit two firms he worked for. |
| A suspension of this length could have seen the Tory MP then face a recall petition, which could lead to a by-election for his seat. | A suspension of this length could have seen the Tory MP then face a recall petition, which could lead to a by-election for his seat. |
| The committee's recommendations have to be signed off by MPs in the Commons. | |
| Such recommendations are usually accepted without much discussion - but on Wednesday, the government ordered its MPs to vote for an amendment to halt Mr Paterson's case and to rejig the standards system. | |
| Labour, the SNP and Lib Dems voted against the plans, along with 13 Conservative MPs, while dozens of Tories abstained. | Labour, the SNP and Lib Dems voted against the plans, along with 13 Conservative MPs, while dozens of Tories abstained. |
| But it was carried by 18 votes after a heated Commons debate, to cries of "shame" from the opposition benches. | But it was carried by 18 votes after a heated Commons debate, to cries of "shame" from the opposition benches. |
| Labour's Toby Perkins was among angry MPs on Wednesday, brandishing cash at the government in reference to Mr Paterson's paid lobbying | |
| Sir Keir said the move by the Conservatives would "further undermine public faith in politics at a time when we should be trying to restore decency and honesty". | Sir Keir said the move by the Conservatives would "further undermine public faith in politics at a time when we should be trying to restore decency and honesty". |
| But he said it was "no surprise" the Tories were "yet again wallowing in sleaze", adding - in a reference to Prime Minister Boris Johnson - that "the rot starts at the top". | But he said it was "no surprise" the Tories were "yet again wallowing in sleaze", adding - in a reference to Prime Minister Boris Johnson - that "the rot starts at the top". |
| The SNP's Pete Wishart also called it a "shameful episode" and "yet another example of Tory stitch-ups and sleaze". | The SNP's Pete Wishart also called it a "shameful episode" and "yet another example of Tory stitch-ups and sleaze". |
| And crossbench peer Lord Evans, who chairs the Committee on Standards in Public Life - advising the PM over the conduct of his ministers - said it was "a very serious and damaging moment for parliament and for public standards in this country". | |
| Mr Bryant told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the government had "created a rod for their own back" by trying to overhaul the system without cross-party agreement. | Mr Bryant told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the government had "created a rod for their own back" by trying to overhaul the system without cross-party agreement. |
| "At the end of the day, some people decided - and this is the very definition of injustice - they decided at the very last minute, for a named individual, they would change the rules," he said. | "At the end of the day, some people decided - and this is the very definition of injustice - they decided at the very last minute, for a named individual, they would change the rules," he said. |
| "That is not what we do in this country. That is what they do in Russia." | "That is not what we do in this country. That is what they do in Russia." |
| But Business Secretary Mr Kwarteng rejected those comparisons, telling Today that MPs had been talking about changing the process "for a long time". | But Business Secretary Mr Kwarteng rejected those comparisons, telling Today that MPs had been talking about changing the process "for a long time". |
| He said the vote was about "bringing back a sense of fairness", and Mr Paterson's case "heightened and brought attention to this fact". | He said the vote was about "bringing back a sense of fairness", and Mr Paterson's case "heightened and brought attention to this fact". |
| He added: "The House yesterday (Wednesday) decided to do something about it and overhaul the system." | He added: "The House yesterday (Wednesday) decided to do something about it and overhaul the system." |
| What did Owen Paterson do? | |
| Owen Paterson watched on in the Commons as MPs debated whether to suspend him | Owen Paterson watched on in the Commons as MPs debated whether to suspend him |
| Mr Paterson has been a paid consultant for clinical diagnostics company Randox since 2015 and to meat distributer Lynn's Country Foods since 2016. | |
| MPs are allowed to have these jobs, but are not allowed to be paid advocates - using their influence in Whitehall for the company's gain. | |
| The committee concluded that Mr Paterson had breached this rule on paid advocacy by: | |
| Making three approaches to the Food Standards Agency relating to Randox and the testing of antibiotics in milk | |
| Making seven approaches to the Food Standards Agency relating to Lynn's Country Foods | |
| Making four approaches to Ministers at the Department for International Development relating to Randox and blood testing technology | |
| Mr Paterson was also found to have broken conduct rules by: | |
| Failing to declare his interest as a paid consultant to Lynn's Country Foods in four emails to officials at the Food Standards Agency | |
| Using his parliamentary office on 26 occasions for business meetings with his clients | |
| And in sending two letters relating to his business interests, on House of Commons headed notepaper | |
| The committee's recommendation that Mr Paterson be suspended from the Commons followed a damning report into his conduct by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Ms Stone. | |
| It described the MP's actions as "an egregious case of paid advocacy". | It described the MP's actions as "an egregious case of paid advocacy". |
| But Mr Paterson rejected the findings, claiming he had been pronounced guilty "without being spoken to" and that "no proper investigation was undertaken". | But Mr Paterson rejected the findings, claiming he had been pronounced guilty "without being spoken to" and that "no proper investigation was undertaken". |
| He also claimed the investigation had been "a major contributory factor" in the death of his wife, Rose, who took her own life last year. | He also claimed the investigation had been "a major contributory factor" in the death of his wife, Rose, who took her own life last year. |
| In a statement after the vote, he said: "After two years of hell, I now have the opportunity to clear my name." | |
| Tory MP Angela Richardson was sacked as a ministerial aide following her decision to abstain on the crucial vote. | |