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Owen Paterson: Minister Stephen Barclay expresses regret over vote Owen Paterson: Minister Stephen Barclay expresses regret over vote
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Stephen Barclay expresses "regret" over the "mistake made last week"Stephen Barclay expresses "regret" over the "mistake made last week"
Minister Stephen Barclay has expressed his "regret" over the "mistake" the government made with the vote on Owen Paterson's conduct last week.Minister Stephen Barclay has expressed his "regret" over the "mistake" the government made with the vote on Owen Paterson's conduct last week.
Government-backed plans to review MP standard rules, after Mr Paterson was found to have broken lobbying rules, were withdrawn following a backlash.Government-backed plans to review MP standard rules, after Mr Paterson was found to have broken lobbying rules, were withdrawn following a backlash.
Mr Paterson has since resigned his North Shropshire seat in Parliament.Mr Paterson has since resigned his North Shropshire seat in Parliament.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the government of "giving a green light to corruption".Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the government of "giving a green light to corruption".
Speaking during an emergency debate on the subject, Sir Keir said "the government wants to weaken the system because it keeps investigating and finding against them".Speaking during an emergency debate on the subject, Sir Keir said "the government wants to weaken the system because it keeps investigating and finding against them".
He also accused the prime minister - who did not attend the debate - of "running scared".He also accused the prime minister - who did not attend the debate - of "running scared".
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And at the beginning of the Commons debate - which is due to last for three hours - Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said it was essential to "sort out the mess we're in".And at the beginning of the Commons debate - which is due to last for three hours - Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said it was essential to "sort out the mess we're in".
He said any review of the process had to to be done on a cross-party basis. He said any review of the process had to be done on a cross-party basis.
Mr Paterson's resignation as a Conservative MP came after the government blocked a proposal to suspend him for 30 days and review the whole investigation system, before backtracking after an outcry from opposition parties and some Tories. Last month, a report by Parliament's standards commissioner Kathryn Stone found that Mr Paterson had repeatedly breached Commons rules banning "paid advocacy".
The sanction was recommended by the Commons Standards Committee following a report by Parliament's standards commissioner Kathryn Stone that found he had repeatedly breached Commons rules banning "paid advocacy". Following her report the Commons Standards Committee recommended Mr Paterson should be suspended for 30 days.
Mr Paterson denied breaching Commons lobbying rules, and said the process for investigating him was unfair. However, Mr Paterson denied breaking the rules and said the investigation had been unfair.
The government supported a proposal to block his suspension until a review of the investigation system had been carried out.
Following an outcry from opposition parties and some Conservative MPs, the government later u-turned on the plan.
'Mistake'
Opening his speech in the Commons, Mr Barclay told MPs: "I would like first and foremost to express my regret, and that of my ministerial colleagues, over the mistake made last week."
He said there had been concerns about the investigations system but said that had been "conflated" with Mr Paterson's case.
Asked about the row earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson did not apologise for ordering his MPs to block Mr Paterson's suspension, insisting the government had been trying to reform MPs' standards system.
He said it was "very important" to get any changes "right" and added a hope that Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle would help set up talks between the parties on improving the process.
Speaking later in the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay did not announce separate talks but instead said he would wait until the Committee on Standards had finished their own review.