Markus Andrews

Boris Johnson has bowed to pressure to formally reverse his attempt to fix Commons sleaze rules and allow the disgraced Owen Paterson to be censured.Ministers had ducked calls to allow a vote – to scrap a proposed new Tory-dominated standards committee – despite demands that it be held before a Commons recess starts tonight.Senior MPs had pointed out that, despite the prime minister’s U-turn over the Paterson scandal, last week’s controversy meant the former Cabinet minister’s conduct had not been recognised as wrong.Also, the vote to replace the existing standards committee with a body led by ex-minister John Whittingdale still stood – despite opposition parties vowing to boycott it.Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, said the vote should have taken place immediately, but added: “The better we do it, the quicker it is over. I would love to see it coming in early next week. Let’s get it over with.”Soon afterwards, Mr Johnson’s spokesman said: “We recognise the strong views on this particular point.“Having listened to those again yesterday afternoon, we will table a motion tonight for next week to formalise the change of approach by unpicking the amendment.”He added: “That motion will proceed the amendment and the committee and allow for the House to approve the report [on Mr Paterson], while recognising Mr Patterson is no longer an MP.”However, the prime minister is still refusing to apologise for last week’s debacle, his spokesman saying only that he believed the episode was regrettable.Tory MPs were whipped to block a 30-day suspension of Mr Paterson, recommended by the independent parliamentary standards committee, which might have triggered a by-election.He was found guilty of an “egregious” breach of lobbying rules, by approaching officials and ministers on behalf of the firms Randox and Lynn’s Country Foods, which paid him almost £112,000 a year in total.Chris Bryant, the Labour chair of the standards committee, had insisted the matter could not be allowed to rest – despite Mr Paterson walking away from politics.He wrote, on Monday: “The bare minimum is that the Commons rescinds Wednesday’s motion and approve the standards committee’s report on Paterson.“The Commons must now declare beyond doubt that Paterson’s conduct was corrupt and unacceptable and abandon the ad hoc committee the government wanted to set up under John Whittingdale..”He added: “The prime minister has to admit that he got it badly wrong and call off the troops, who still seem intent on attacking the commissioner.”Kathryn Stone, the independent standards commission, has received threats after the business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng suggested she should consider her position. More

The government has confirmed it will make Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for frontline NHS staff from 1st April next year. Speaking in the House of Commons today, health secretary Sajid Javid said after considering thousands of responses to a consultation launched in the summer, “I have concluded that all those working in the NHS and social care will have to be vaccinated.”He added: “We must avoid preventable harm and protect patients in the NHS, protect colleagues in the NHS and of course protect the NHS itself .”All staff who have face to face contact with patients will have to provide evidence they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Those who do not have direct contact are exempt, as are those who have a medical reason to not have the jab. The government also consulted on making flu vaccines mandatory. Mr Javid has said these vaccines will not be imposed at the moment but said the government remains “open” to the option. The health secretary said the decision to make Covid-19 vaccines compulsory for NHS staff does not mean the Government does not recognise concerns about “workforce pressures’’ this winter. He said: “It’s with this in mind that we’ve chosen for the condition not to come into force until 12 weeks after parliamentary approval, allowing time for remaining colleagues to make the positive choice to protect themselves of those around them, and time for workforce planning.’’ The head of the NHS, Amanda Pritchard, is expected to write to staff today about mandatory vaccinations. In a statement she said: “The NHS has always been clear that staff should get the life-saving Covid vaccination to protect themselves, their loved ones and their patients and the overwhelming majority have already done so.“Working with NHS organisations, we will continue to support staff who have not yet received the vaccination to take up the evergreen offer.”NHS Providers boss Chris Hopson said on Tuesday morning that if mandatory vaccination for NHS staff was approached in the right way it could have a positive effect on vaccine uptake.He argued that an extended deadline for getting vaccinated would mean that hospitals could discuss concerns with vaccine-hesitant staff to explain that “it is in their interests and their patients’ interests to get vaccinated”.But he added that the NHS and the social care sector losing “significant numbers of staff” would be a “real problem”.”I suspect that come the deadline, whenever it is set, there will still be some staff who are adamant that they don’t want to get vaccinated and that is a very significant risk for the NHS,” he said.He added: “The problem for both social care and the NHS is we run these systems incredibly hot on very, very fine margins. Both of us have got around 90 to 100,000 vacancies.”We are completely reliant on our staff to…work extra shifts in order to do the work that needs to be done. So losing significant numbers of staff, particularly given the pressure that both of the systems are under at the moment, is a real, real problem.”And that’s why we’re very clear with the Government they need to help us manage this risk.” More

Boris Johnson has refused to intervene after Tory MP Geoffrey Cox voted from the Caribbean during lockdown, saying the controversy is not a matter for him.Asked if it was “appropriate” for the former attorney general to have worked in the British Virgin Islands, the prime minister’s spokesman said the “rules are set” by the Commons – not by No 10.Asked, three times, if the government would quiz Sir Geoffrey over his activities earlier this year, the spokesman declined to say that he would.The stance came as Labour demanded No 10 investigate whether the £1m-earning lawyer “is a Caribbean-based barrister or a Conservative MP”.Mr Johnson’s spokesman also said, for the first time, that he opposes an “outright ban” on MPs having second jobs, having previously said that is a matter for the Commons to decide.However, he refused to say what “outright” means – appearing to leave open the option of supporting a ban on the most controversial jobs, working as a consultant or adviser.Sir Geoffrey is at the eye of the sleaze row after spending several weeks in the British Virgin Islands in April and May this year, 4,000 miles away from his Devon constituency.He voted by proxy, exploiting rules brought in to ensure MPs were not excluded because of having to isolate because of catching Covid, or because of medical conditions.Just as controversially, he earned more than £150,000 as a lawyer advising the Caribbean tax haven over corruption charges brought by the Foreign Office.The job contributed to more than £1m in legal fees the QC earned since the start of 2020 – working more than 20 hours a week – on top of his £81,932 salary as an MP.Anneliese Dodds, the Labour Party chair, demanded an investigation, calling the issue “a question of leadership” for the prime minister.“It appears that your former attorney general is profiting from advising an administration accused of corruption and tax avoidance,” a letter to Mr Johnson reads.“Sir Geoffrey’s behaviour means it looks like he’d rather get a tax haven off the hook than represent the interests of his constituents.”There is no suggestion the barrister broke any Commons rules and the prime minister’s spokesman insisted he “cannot comment on individual MPs”.Asked if his behaviour was appropriate, he said: “The prime minister’s view is that MPs’ primary job is and must be to serve their constituents and to represent their interests in Parliament.“They should be visible in their constituencies and available to help constituents with their constituency matters.“If they’re not doing that, they’re not doing their job, and will be rightly judged on that by their constituents.”The spokesman declined to say how it should be judged whether an MP is making that their “primary job” – the time spent on it, or relative earnings, for example – and said no fresh guidance would be issued to Tories. More

Related video: Boris Johnson refuses to apologise for handling of sleaze scandal The prime minister has said he will not intervene after Tory MP Geoffrey Cox was found to have voted from the Caribbean during lockdown, insisting the controversy is not a matter for him.Asked if it was “appropriate” for the former attorney general to have worked in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Boris Johnson’s spokesman said the “rules are set” by the Commons – not by Downing Street.It comes as Labour demanded No 10 investigate whether the £1m-earning lawyer “is a Caribbean-based barrister or a Conservative MP”.“The irony is not lost on me that [Sir Geoffrey] arrived in the Caribbean on the day that those MPs who actually feel a sense of duty to their constituents were debating global anti-corruption standards,” Labour chair Anneliese Dodds wrote in a letter to the PM.Earlier, justice secretary Dominic Raab defended Sir Geoffrey’s role defending the BVI against corruption charges, saying it was “right and legitimate” for MPs to hold second jobs. Mr Cox, the highest-earning MP, advised the tax haven after the Foreign Office brought an inquiry against it. Show latest update

1636468631Whole Yorkshire board must resign, says Labour The whole Yorkshire cricket board should resign amid a public backlash against racism at the club, Labour has said.Shadow sport and culture secretary Jo Stevens said the remaining board members should leave their posts after the “shameful fiasco”, before expressing her hope that the EHRC investigates the matter. Ms Stevens added that the prime minister, who has himself been accused of racism in the past, should “lead by example” in tackling the problem. Rory Sullivan9 November 2021 14:371636467491Downing Street backs MPs with second jobs Parliament has “historically” benefitted from MPs taking second jobs, Downing Street has claimed. The prime minister’s spokesperson said he condoned “outside experience, where this is reasonable and an MP’s parliamentary duties can still take priority”.“It’s incumbent on them (MPs) to be able to demonstrate to the electorate that they are working on their behalf,” they added. Rory Sullivan9 November 2021 14:181636466411Parliamentary recess needs to be cancelled amid sleaze row, say Liberal Democrats The parliamentary recess due to begin today should be cancelled due to the current sleaze row, the Liberal Democrats have said. In a letter to the leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Lib Dems said PMQs should be held on Wednesday so Boris Johnson could be held accountable.“Boris Johnson must not run and hide from this sleaze scandal. The Conservatives are hoping that they will be saved by the bell, so they don’t have to answer questions on these allegations. It is utterly unacceptable,” Wendy Chamberlain MP said. Rory Sullivan9 November 2021 14:001636465091Ministers must stop ‘incendiary language’ over NI protocol, says O’Neill The British government should stop its “incendiary language” over the Northern Ireland protocol, Stormont’s deputy first minister has warned. Michelle O’Neill, of Sinn Fein, said Boris Johnson’s government and the DUP need to “dial down the rhetoric” about the arrangement. Her remarks followed the torching of two buses in Northern Ireland by loyalists who oppose the protocol. After speaking to Brexit minister Lord David Frost, Ms O’Neill said disorder must be prevented. “So we need to do everything in our power to stop it. So I’ve asked them to dial it down, I have warned them against the language they’re using, I have also asked them to remove the threat to trigger Article 16 because that’s not what the majority of parties here want, what the wider business community want,” she said. Rory Sullivan9 November 2021 13:381636463958Who are the highest paid Tory MPs? Britain’s highest-earning MPs took home more than £3.2 million from their second jobs since the start of last year.Theresa May and Fiona Bruce were in the top three earners, after being paid £760,000 and £382,000 respectively.But Geoffrey Cox, whose extra salaries have raised eyebrows this week, was by far and away the highest paid, with earnings just £30,000 shy of £1 million. Rory Sullivan9 November 2021 13:191636462909Labour demand PM launches probe into Geoffrey CoxLabour members are not happy about the Geoffrey Cox voting scandal, with the party calling on Boris Johnson to launch an urgent investigation into Sir Geoffrey role in advising the government of the British Virgin Islands in a corruption probe.Labour chair Anneliese Dodds has written to the PM, saying: “It appears that your former Attorney General is profiting from advising an administration accused of corruption and tax avoidance.”In the letter, Ms Dodds said: “It seems Sir Geoffrey took advantage of Covid-related parliamentary rules and flew out to the BVI to vote by proxy from the other side of the Atlantic.“The irony is not lost on me that he arrived in the Caribbean on the day that those MPs who actually feel a sense of duty to their constituents were debating global anti-corruption standards.“The people of Torridge and West Devon must be wondering if Geoffrey Cox is a Caribbean-based barrister or a Conservative MP.”She tweeted this last night:Sam Hancock9 November 2021 13:011636462340Johnson refuses to intervene over MP voting from CaribbeanBoris Johnson has refused to intervene after Tory MP Geoffrey Cox voted from the Caribbean during lockdown, saying the controversy is not a matter for him.Asked if it was “appropriate” for the former attorney general to have worked in the British Virgin Islands, the prime minister’s spokesman said the “rules are set” by the Commons – not by No 10, reports our deputy political editor Rob Merrick. Asked, three times, if the government would quiz Sir Geoffrey over his activities earlier this year, the spokesman declined to say that he would.Sam Hancock9 November 2021 12:521636461383Watch: Raab claims PM ‘followed guidance’ during maskless hospital visitDominic Raab says Boris Johnson ‘followed guidance’ during maskless hospital visitSam Hancock9 November 2021 12:361636460727Ratcliffe says ‘there are consequences for PM’s unkept promises’On that note, The Independent went and spoke to Richard Ratcliffe last week – on day 10 of his demonstration.The father-of-one spoke about everything from letters his wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and Boris Johnson exchanged while the former was imprisoned, why he feels the PM is failing to lead properly on the issue, and how Nazanin is coping in Iran. Here’s how it went:Sam Hancock9 November 2021 12:251636460582Starmer and Rayner visit Ratcliffe on day 17 of hunger strikeSome news from outside the Foreign Office now, where Richard Ratcliffe is on day 17 of his hunger strike in his latest bid to secure his wife’s release from Iran.Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner visited the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in Whitehall today.Deputy Labour leader Ms Rayner told Mr Ratcliffe: “I’m really sorry that you are having to do this.”Meanwhile, Labour leader Sir Keir told him: “There has to be a resolution to this,” adding: “I feel that there is more support now than last time.”Mr Ratcliffe is yet to hear from PM Boris Johnson.Sam Hancock9 November 2021 12:23 More

Britain’s top 10 highest-earning MPs have taken more than £3.2m from their second jobs since the start of 2020.New analysis by The Independent shows how the select group – all Conservatives – has earned huge sums in salaries and one-off payments doing work for a range of private firms.The most recent register of financial interests shows that Sir Geoffrey Cox earned more than £800,000 in the past year working for law firm Withers, representing the British Virgin Island’s government.The former Tory attorney general also earned more than £130,000 from other legal work since the beginning of last year – making him the single highest-earning MP.The spotlight has fallen on Sir Geoffrey after the Daily Mail reported that he cast his votes by proxy while advising the British Virgin Islands government over a corruption probe launched by the Foreign Office.But Sir Geoffrey is not the only Tory politician earning large sums from the private sector on top of their £82,500 salaries, as the government comes under increasing pressure to crack down on second jobs.Former prime minister Theresa May has earned around £760,000 from after-dinner speeches since the beginning of 2020.Health secretary Sajid Javid earned around £245,000 from outside work since the start of last year – mainly from salary payments advising banking giant JP Morgan and the software firm C3 before giving up the roles on his return to the cabinet.Julian Smith, the former Tory chief whip, is making roughly £144,000 a year in payments from advisory roles with energy firms, while former transport secretary Chris Grayling earns £100,000 a year from Hutchison Ports Europe.More than 200 MPs have received outside earnings on top of their main job representing constituents in the past year. As well as consultancy work and directorships, a small number are also employed as doctors and nurses.Previous analysis by The Independent showed that 32 MPs to act as consultants for private firms have earned just over £1.4m annually in salaries and one-off payments in the past year.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said his party would back a ban on MPs being able to hold consultancy role and directorships.The opposition has also called on Boris Johnson to launch an urgent investigation into Sir Geoffrey role in advising the government of the British Virgin Islands in a corruption probe.These 10 MPs have earned a combined total of £3.2m in salaries and fees from second jobs since the start of 2020:Sir Geoffrey Cox£970,000 – salary payments and fees from Withers law firm and fees from other legal workTheresa May£760,000 – speaking engagements in USFiona Bruce£382,000 – consultancy fees for Fiona Bruce and Co LLP solicitorsSajid Javid£245,000 – salary payments from JP Morgan and C3 software firm, as well as speaking engagementSir John Redwood£233,000 – salary payments with investment advisory company; payments to sit on board of private equity firmAndrew Mitchell£182,000 – salary payments consultancy and advisory work for finance firmsJulian Smith£144,000 – salary payments for consultancy work with energy firmsSir John Hayes£118,000 – salary payments for consultancy work with energy trading firm; academic roles in education sectorStephen Hammond£103,000 – salary payments for advisory work with finance firm; non-executive directorship of health firm; chairmanships at Public Policy ProjectsMark Garnier£100,000 – salary payments for advisory work with wealth management firm; advisory roles with satellite company and Shetland Space Centre More

A disgraced Conservative MP who was suspended from parliament for sexual misconduct has called on broadcasters to make a documentary on the “good work” of politicians.Rob Roberts – the Tory MP who was found by an independent panel to have made “repeated unwanted sexual advances” towards a member of staff – was forced to leave the Commons in May for six weeks.The MP for Delyn said he had written to BBC and ITV, asking ask them to send camera crews around the country to capture what MPs do for their constituents.Mr Roberts wrote on Facebook: “We live in particularly febrile times, with much of the public discourse driven by creating scandal and outrage. Often it is justified, sometimes it is not.”He added: “It is important that people see the good work that MPs of all colours do across the country, and hear from some of the constituents whose lives have been changed for the better.”The Conservatives confirmed last week that Mr Roberts was a party member again following his 12-week suspension – though the Tories are still withholding the whip from him in the Commons.Amid the ongoing series of sleaze scandals engulfing the government, Labour has called Mr Robert’s membership reinstatement “a disgrace” and claimed the government was hiding behind a “loophole” preventing a recall petition.On Monday, Sir Keir Starmer urged Boris Johnson to “work with us” to ensure the Delyn MP faces a recall petition so he can face the “judgement” of the electorate.However, Mr Roberts insisted that MPs “do a huge amount of good work in their communities” and suggested BBC and ITV’s regional outlets highlight the work of a different politician each day.He wrote: “I sincerely hope that both the BBC and ITV take this idea on board and give it due consideration to bring just a little bit of balance to a very one-sided situation that is leading to MPs receiving threats and abuse on a daily basis.”Meanwhile, several national newspapers have rounded on the prime minister over the sleaze row engulfing his party – with some demanding an apology and others calling him a coward for avoiding Monday’s Commons debate on the issue.Senior Tory MP Mark Harper, the former chief whip, said it was time for Mr Johnson to say sorry to both the public and MPs following the debacle over Owen Paterson and the botched attempt to rewrite conduct rules. More

A Conservative MP took part in parliamentary votes while doing another job from a Caribbean island tax haven, it has been reported.Geoffrey Cox, the government’s former attorney general, is thought to have earned nearly £1 million from his second job in the British Virgin Islands.The Daily Mail reports that Sir Geoffrey, who has not commented on the reports, cast his votes in parliament by proxy while working 4,000 miles away in warmer climes.The QC earned £900,000 in the past year working for law firm Withers, representing the tax haven’s government in an inquiry into governance and possible corruption.He also earned around £130,000 from other legal work on top of his £82,000 MPs’ salary.The MP is understood to have spent some of April and May in the tropical region – with his register of interests showing that he earned £156,916.08 for 140 hours’ work between April 29 and May 31. He reportedly arrived in the Caribbean on April 26 – the same day as the Commons held a debate on global corruption. A press release on the BVI government website for that day says Sir Geoffrey was “currently in quarantine” but “intends to hold a series of meetings with government ministers in the next few weeks”.Conservative deputy prime minister Dominic Raab, who is also in charge of Justice, said Sir Geoffrey’s actions were “legitimate thing to do as long as it is properly declared”.Dominic Raab, who set up the inquiry Sir Geoffrey is representing the BVI in, said: “I think it’s first of all important to say that all of… any outside interests have to be properly declared.”In relation to the British Virgin Islands, I was the foreign secretary that commissioned a commission of inquiry, given the allegations of misgovernance and very serious ones, including criminal wrongdoing.”Now, I’m not going to get dragged into what individual MPs do, but actually having the former attorney general – and it wasn’t my decision, he was hired by the government of the BVI to advise them on how to correct and deal and address those allegations – actually, is a legitimate thing to do as long as it’s properly declared.”And of course, it’s quite important in that Parliament, which is responsible residually for some areas of our relationship with the overseas territories, we’ve got some knowledge of what’s going on in those territories.” More

Boris Johnson has been accused of “running scared” after he dodged scrutiny in parliament of his botched attempt to save a Tory MP from punishment for sleaze.Conservative MPs joined attacks on the prime minister after he dodged a three-hour emergency debate in the House of Commons prompted by his failed bid to rewrite parliament’s standards rules.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that after “giving the green light to corruption” by trying to get his ally Owen Paterson off the hook last week, the prime minster had chosen to “cower away” rather than face the music and apologise.And Conservative former chief whip Mark Harper told MPs: “If the team captain gets it wrong, then I think he should come and apologise to the public and to this house, that’s the right thing to do in terms of demonstrating leadership.”The Scottish National Party submitted a formal request to the Metropolitan Police to investigate Mr Johnson and the Conservative party over “potential criminal misconduct” after the award of peerages to nine former party treasurers who had given the Tories £3m or more.And the chair of the Commons standards committee, Chris Bryant, told The Independent he was “infuriated” by ministers’ indication that they will block a Commons vote to approve the panel’s finding that Mr Paterson had committed an “egregious case of paid advocacy” when he lobbied ministers and watchdogs on behalf of two companies which paid him a total of £100,000 a year.Mr Johnson ducked the three-hour emergency debate by visiting a hospital in Northumberland, leaving cabinet colleague Stephen Barclay to face furious MPs.Accusing the prime minister of “running scared”, Sir Keir Starmer said: “Last week the prime minister damaged himself, he damaged his party and he damaged our democracy. He led his party through the sewers and the stench lingers.“This week he had the chance to clean up, apologise to the country and finally accept the rules apply to him and his friends. But instead of stepping up, he has hidden away. Instead of clearing his mess, he has left his side knee deep in it. Instead of leading from the front, he has cowered away. He is not a serious leader and the joke isn’t funny any more.”The Labour leader said that the prime minister had “corroded” voters’ trust, “trashed” democracy with his attempt last week to appoint a Tory-dominated committee to rewrite sleaze rules in a way which would allow Paterson to avoid the 30-day suspension recommended by the standards committee.Mr Barclay expressed “regret” on behalf of himself and other ministers for last week’s “mistake”.But Starmer – who had demanded a full apology from the PM – retorted: “It wasn’t a tactical mistake, an innocent misjudgement swiftly corrected by a U-turn. It was the prime minister’s way of doing business.”He called on MPs to honour the memory of murdered colleagues Sir David Amess, Jo Cox and Airey Neave by defeating the “politics of cynicism” promoted by the prime minister.Conservative MP Aaron Bell – who rebelled in last week’s vote – said that Mr Johnson had put fellow members of the 2019 intake in an “invidious” position by ordering them to bail out Mr Paterson last week.Tory member of the standards committee Mark Fletcher said he had had “no problem” backing the report which condemned Mr Paterson, and would do the same again.The Bolsover MP, who also entered the Commons in 2019, said: “Two years here is more than enough to know the difference between right and wrong.”And Tory former cabinet minister Jeremy Wright, a member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said Mr Johnson’s actions had been “wholly wrong” and ministers had indulged in “unfair and gratuitous” attacks on the competence and integrity of independent standards commissioner Kathryn Stone, who is reported to have received death threats.In a TV interview during his visit to Hexham General Hospital, Mr Johnson three times refused to apologise for whipping Tory MPs to vote against the suspension of Paterson, who quit as an MP following the prime minister’s humiliating climbdown the following day.Mr Johnson said that “frankly, I don’t think there’s much more to be said” about the Paterson affair and did not rule out offering a peerage to the disgraced Brexiteer, saying only: “There’s been absolutely no discussion about that.”He also came into further criticism for not wearing a mask during the visit. Labour MP Jonathan Ashworth said: “So not only is Boris Johnson too cowardly to turn up to parliament to defend the sleazy corrupt government shenanigans of recent days, he’s now irresponsibly parading round a hospital without a mask.”Labour branded Johnson a “Phileas Fogg” after calculating that his trip to the northeast brought the total distance he had travelled to avoid embarrassment to 26,000 miles – the same as the fictional explorer’s journey around the world.They pointed to his Spanish holiday during this year’s supply chain crisis, his trip to Afghanistan as foreign secretary at the time of a vote on Heathrow’s new runway, and a trip to Canada as London mayor during riots in the capital in 2011.There were cries of “Run, Boris, Run!” in the Commons chamber as Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain told MPs: “This is a prime minister who flew to Afghanistan to escape a vote on Heathrow when he was foreign secretary, and has driven to the northeast to escape questions today.”Labour MP Tan Dhesi branded the prime minister a “tin-pot dictator”, while Ms Chamberlain said his actions were comparable to autocratic regimes in Russia and China.“This is almost the kind of behaviour we would expect to see in the Duma in Moscow, National People’s Congress in Beijing, not in the House of Commons,” she told MPs.“They say a fish rots from the head down, and I’m disappointed to see that the prime minister has chosen not to turn up today to answer questions… You can’t help but feel that he thinks the rules don’t apply to him.”Mr Bryant appealed for the government to table a motion which he had drafted for debate tomorrow, which would have overturned last week’s vote and allowed MPs to affirm his committee’s judgement that Mr Paterson’s behaviour was “inappropriate”.He told The Independent that he was “infuriated” by Mr Barclay’s refusal to agree to the plan, adding: “An apology is of no value if you’re not prepared to put things right.”Mr Bryant said his cross-party committee – which includes seven MPs and seven independent lay members – intends to complete its own review of the Commons code of conduct by Christmas.And Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said that would be the time for MPs to work on a cross-party basis to consider any reforms needed to restore faith in the system.Sir Lindsay described the events around the Paterson case as a “very dark week for politics” which had “tarnished” politics in voters’ eyes. But he stopped short of announcing his own review of the system, as had been predicted over the weekend.Mr Bryant said that Ms Stone had been bullied, threatened and undermined by ministers in a “cowardly and unfair” way.“We have a duty not just to our constituents but to the nation, not just to this generation of voters but to future generations of voters, to protect the reputation of parliament not to undermine it,” he told MPs. More