UK politics live: Labour criticises PM as Tories urged to vote down Paterson lobbying inquiry findings

Sir Bernard Jenkin, a Conservative MP who has put his name to the Andrea Leadsom amendment (see 9.55am), told the Today programme this morning that the system for policing the conduct of MPs had been flawed for years and that today’s vote was an opportunity to fix it. He insisted that the amendment was not designed to let Owen Paterson off. Jenkin said:

Asked to confirm that the government will tell Tory MPs to back the amendment, Jenkin replied: “I have had various discussions with ministers, nothing has been decided.”

Jenkin is a member of the Commons standards committee, but he did not take part in its inquiry into Paterson because Paterson is a close personal friend.

Jenkin and Paterson were also prominent Vote Leave campaigners, as were Andrea Leadsom and many of the other Tories who have signed her amendment. At times Paterson and his supporters have claimed there is a political dimension to the inquiry against him. The inquiry was triggered by this article in the Guardian in September 2019, and the involvement of the pro-remain Guardian is seen by Paterson’s allies as evidence that there is a Brexit dimension to the row.

There are two amendments on the order paper today to the motion saying that Owen Paterson should be suspended from the Commons for 30 days, as recommended by the standards committee. You can read the both in full here (pdf).

The main one has been tabled by Andrea Leadsom, the Conservative former leader of the Commons. It “notes concerns expressed about potential defects in the standards system and therefore declines to consider the [standards committee] report at this time”.

Instead, the Leadsom amendment says a new committee should be set up to consider changes to the current standards system. The committee should be chaired by John Whittingdale, the Tory former culture secretary, and it should include four other Conservative MPs, three Labour MPs and one SNP MP, the motion says. It also says this committee should consider whether the case against Paterson should be reviewed.

In total 59 Conservatives have put their names to this amendment.

The second one has been tabled by Julian Lewis, the Conservative chair of the intelligence and security committee. It “notes” the standards committee report but says the Commons should resolve “on compassionate grounds, that no further action be taken”. This is a reference to the fact that Owen Paterson’s wife, Rose, took her own life last year. Paterson says the parliamentary inquiry into his conduct was a “major factor” in his wife’s decision.

The Lewis amendment has been signed by 15 MPs – all Tories except for Sammy Wilson, who is a DUP MP.

Good morning. It is almost 30 years since the cash for questions scandal, which revealed how MPs were using their status as parliamentarians for personal gain. It led to the creation of the committee on standards in public life and a major overhaul of the rules governing what MPs are and are not allowed to do. Over the last three decades the system has been criticised, and amended, but by and large it has survived with cross-party support. But today Boris Johnson and the Conservatives seem ready to blow that consensus apart by voting for an overhaul of the system that would protect Owen Paterson, the Tory former cabinet minister, from a 30-day suspension for breaking lobbying rules.

The cross-party Commons standards committee recommended the punishment, on the basis of the findings of an investigation from Kathryn Stone, the parliamentary commissioner for standards. Since the end of the second world war, disciplinary recommendations from this committee or its predecessors have almost always been accepted by the Commons as a whole, normally without a vote. For a standards committee finding to be rejected as comprehensively as is being proposed today is thought to be unprecedented.

Here is my colleague Aubrey Allegretti‘s preview story.

It is not at all clear yet, though, how today will pan out. It is up to the Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, to decide whether he will allow a vote on the Tory amendment, tabled by Andrea Leadsom, essentially rejecting the Paterson findings, and it has been reported that Hoyle believes that, if MPs were to reject the standards committee report, that would do “real reputational damage” to the Commons.

If Hoyle does not allow a vote on the amendment, Paterson’s supporters could simply try to vote down the proposed suspension. But that would look even worse, because they would be voting to protect him without launching a review of the case. The proposed suspension could end up being approved after a division showing MPs split, probably largely along party lines. This would be damaging too, because it would show the process in place for policing the conduct of MPs no longer commanding widespread cross-party support.

Labour has accused the government of wanting a return to “the worst of the 1990s Tory sleaze culture”. Last night, after it was reported that Johnson wants Tory MPs to back the Leadsom amendment, Thangam Debbonaire, the shadow leader of the Commons, said:

Here is the agenda for the day.

9am: Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, holds a press conference at Cop26. For full coverage, do read out Cop26 live blog.

10am: Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, gives evidence to the Commons education committee.

12pm: Boris Johnson faces Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, at PMQs. Sir Keir Starmer is still isolating because he tested positive for Covid.

After 12.30pm: Johnson makes a Commons statement on Cop26.

After 1.30pm: MPs begin the debate on the standards committee report about Owen Paterson. The voting will come 90 minutes later.

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