Owen Paterson: Government's attempt to clear Tory MP plain wrong, says Theresa May

Theresa May says government attempts to block the suspension of Owen Paterson were "misplaced, ill-judged and just plain wrong".

The former prime minister said No 10 "aided and abetted" efforts to clear the Tory MP's name by trying to overhaul the whole standards system.

But she said the report into Mr Paterson had been "clear and fair".

MPs agreed to formally reverse the government's plan on Tuesday after an hour-long debate.

A bid to quietly confirm the U-turn on Monday was thwarted by a Tory MP.

Christopher Chope objected to a government motion, which would have seen the reversal approved without a debate.

Mr Chope told the Commons on Tuesday that backtracking on the plan was a "major constitutional decision" and it was "important for this house of democracy to debate the issue openly".

And despite open animosity from his Tory colleagues over the move, he added: "I have got no regrets about that whatsoever."

During the debate, Jacob Rees-Mogg was asked by Labour's Stephen Timms how the government could have stood by the "brazen wrongdoing" of Mr Paterson.

The Commons leader pointed to the death of his colleague's wife Rose, who took her own life in 2020, saying: "It was the tragedy inflicted on Mr Paterson that coloured and clouded my judgement incorrectly.

"It is as simple and sad as that."

The government bid to overhaul MPs' standards system came during an attempt to block Mr Paterson's suspension for breaching Commons lobbying rules while working for two firms as a consultant.

Ministers ordered Conservative MPs to back a proposal to put his suspension on hold while a Tory-majority committee reviewed the whole investigation process.

But they then ditched the idea the next day, after a furious backlash.

Mr Paterson, the MP for North Shropshire, has denied any wrongdoing and called an investigation into his conduct unfair. He has since resigned as an MP.

'Damage has been done'

Speaking in Tuesday's debate, Mrs May said: "I trust that no member of this House is thinking of doing anything other than supporting the motion that is being moved by the Leader of the House."

She said officially confirming the government U-turn would be "a step in the right direction", but warned it would "not undo the damage that has been done" by the whole affair.

Mrs May added: "Let's be clear this is not a party political issue. Damage has been done to all members of Parliament and to Parliament as a whole."

Labour's shadow Commons leader, Thangam Debbonaire also said the government could not "sweep this under the rug".

She said: "Standards should not be seen or treated as irksome bother that you get your mates to change when you are found out.

"And it should not be seen as something to be feared or something to be treated with such disdain, or frankly incompetence, [or with] a total absence of leadership as we have seen from this sorry government over this sorry affair."

On Monday, MPs had been expected to formally approve the findings of the original report against Mr Paterson, which would have suspended him for 30 days if he had remained in his post.

However, backbench MP Mr Chope shouted "object" in the Commons chamber, meaning it could not be put to a vote under Commons rules.

Mr Paterson's case has prompted increased scrutiny of politicians' behaviour, and the rules by which it is policed.

On Tuesday, five former civil service heads said there was an "urgent need" for bodies with responsibility for standards to have their powers and remit set out in law.

These include the PM's standards adviser - who investigates whether ministers are obeying the rulebook on their behaviour - and the commissioner who regulates ministerial appointments to key public bodies.

They also added that a "strengthened regulator" was needed to police "clearer rules" for politicians and officials who take up private sector jobs.

In a letter to the Times, they warned: "Rules, though, will only take us so far.

"Good people will behave well. Bad people may find ways round whatever rules there are, and we should aim to frame regulations to make cheating them harder."