Owen Paterson: Minister defends U-turn over MP's conduct probe

A cabinet minister has apologised for the government's botched attempt to rewrite MPs' conduct rules.

No 10 initially backed an overhaul of the system, alongside blocking the suspension of Tory MP Owen Paterson for breaking lobbying rules.

But it later made a dramatic U-turn, amid an outcry from opposition MPs and some Tories.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said backtracking on the "mistake" was the "grown-up thing to do".

However, he said it was right for the government to continue with one part of its proposals - introducing a "right of appeal" for MPs under investigation.

He told BBC Breakfast that allowing MPs to formally appeal the published conclusions of the MPs' standards watchdog "speaks to British values".

The row began after the government initially ordered its MPs to oppose a 30-day suspension for Mr Paterson and review the whole process of investigation.

The Commons Standards Committee had proposed the sanction after a damning inquiry by Parliament's standards commissioner found he had misused his position as an MP to benefit two firms he worked for.

But after fierce criticism from opposition parties and some Conservative MPs, who refused to vote for the move, Downing Street backed down on its plans on Thursday, meaning Mr Paterson would face suspension after all.

Mr Paterson, who denies wrongdoing, then announced he would stand down as MP for North Shropshire and seek a life "outside the cruel world of politics".

He has insisted his approaches to ministers had been to alert them about defects in safety regulations, and that the probe into his behaviour was unfair.

Labour has confirmed it intends to stand a candidate in the by-election to replace him - after initially exploring the idea of teaming up with other opposition parties to back an "anti-sleaze" candidate in the contest.

Speaking on Friday, Mr Zahawi said the government still wanted to change the standards system, but it had "made a mistake" in attempting to "conflate" this with Mr Paterson's case.

He said the government now wanted to "separate those things out" and "do this properly".

"To admit a mistake, I think, is the right thing to do, and the grown-up thing to do," he added.

He insisted ministers would continue to put forward plans for a "fairer system" for investigating MPs, including giving them the right to appeal the watchdog's findings.

However, it remains unclear whether opposition parties will collaborate with the government over its plans for reform.

Labour, the SNP and the Liberal Democrats had all vowed to boycott a special committee Tory MPs had wanted to set up to conduct a review.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said Prime Minister Boris Johnson "must explain how he intends to fix the immense harm he has done to confidence in the probity of him and his MPs".

Labour and the SNP have also insisted the Commissioner for Standards must be allowed to continue her work scrutinising other MPs.

Earlier, Mr Zahawi told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the prime minister had always been clear that paid lobbying was wrong.

Mr Paterson has been a paid consultant for clinical diagnostics company Randox since 2015 and to meat distributor Lynn's Country Foods since 2016, earning a total of £100,000 a year on top of his MP's salary.

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.

Mr Paterson was also found to have broken conduct rules by: