By Tony O’Riley-
Former Tory PM Theresa May condemned her successor’s handling of the standards U-turn fiasco, claiming Boris Johnson’s attempt to save his friend Owen Paterson from suspension was “misplaced, ill-judged and just plain wrong”.
Speaking at a Commons debate, Ms May said she had read the original committee report on Mr Paterson, and that its conclusion was “clear and fair”. She added that passing the motion to undo that vote today was “a step in the right direction” but warned “it will not undo the damage that has been done”.
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.
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 fiasco that saw Mps vote to let Patterson off was a disgrace to parliament, and brought the reputation of Parliament to disrepute.
In what was an unusual move, MPs voted not to back the cross-party Standards Committee’s call for a six-week ban from parliament for Paterson after it found he repeatedly lobbied ministers and officials for two companies which paid him more than £100,000 per year.
MPs backed an amendment calling for a review of his case after Conservatives were ordered to support the bid and Boris Johnson questioned whether the investigation into Paterson was fair.
Paterson said the move would allow him to clear his name after “two years of hell”, but anti-corruption campaigners, unions, political observers and Opposition MPs condemned the decision, with the Tories accused of “wallowing in sleaze”.
MPs went on to officially back the move to scrap the so-called Leadsom amendment, which looked to establish a review of the standards investigation process. As a result, members finally endorsed the report which would have suspended Mr Paterson, a former Tory minister, from parliament for 30 days had he not resigned as an MP.
Shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire had kicked off the debate by criticising her Tory opponent for putting the government in a position to be accused of corruption. Haranguing Jacob Rees-Mogg for admitting his part in the “chaotic” scandal, Ms Debbonaire said parliament “should only ever be in the business of strengthening and updating our system”.
Boris Johnson has since sent detailed recommendations to Lindsay Hoyle, aimed at improving standards for Mps.