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An MP has apologised for a tweet on the Owen Paterson paid lobbying scandal, after using suicide in a point she was making. Kirsty Blackman said she deleted the tweet – which had been called “inappropriate” on social media – in a post on Thursday night. Mr Paterson has been found to have repeatedly lobbied ministers and officials for two companies paying him more than £100,000 a year. Before a U-turn on Thursday, the government had faced criticism for moving to overhaul MPs’ disciplinary processes and block the Tory MP’s suspension. Ms Blackman, an SNP MP, said in a now-deleted tweet on Thursday morning: “Missed your bus because your wife committed suicide and so you were two minutes late to your Job Centre appointment? – SANCTIONED.”She added: “Lobby the government on behalf of companies who pay you £9k a month? – oh, you poor lamb, no sanction for you.”Mr Paterson’s wife Rose died by suicide in 2020. Ms Blackman tweeted on Thursday night: “After some reflection, I have deleted a tweet I made earlier.“I offer my unreserved apologies for tweeting it, particularly to anyone who may have been upset or offended. I’m sorry.”Mr Paterson stepped down as MP on Thursday, saying he was leaving the “cruel world of politics”. He had been saved from potential suspension by Tory colleagues after being found to have breached lobbying rules.But the next day, a government U-turn meant he again faced a vote on a possible six-week ban. Announcing he would be leaving politics, the former Northern Ireland secretary said he was “totally innocent” of what he had been accused and “was unable to clear [his] name under the current system.” “Far, far worse than having my honesty questioned was, of course, the suicide of my beloved and wonderful wife, Rose,” he added. In his statement, Mr Paterson also alleged: “Worst of all was seeing people, including MPs, publicly mock and deride Rose’s death and belittle our pain.“My children have therefore asked me to leave politics altogether, for my sake as well as theirs. I agree with them. I do not want my wife’s memory and reputation to become a political football. Above all, I always put my family first.” The resignation has prompted a by-election in North Shropshire, which had been represented by Mr Paterson for 24 years.If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email [email protected], or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch More

The European Commission has accused the UK government of failing to engage “sincerely” in talks over post-Brexit rules for Northern Ireland and warned of “serious consequences” if Boris Johnson suspends the arrangements by triggering Article 16.The warning came after talks in Brussels between Brexit minister David Frost and Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič ended in deadlock.Lord Frost said that progress on UK concerns about the operation of Boris Johnson’s Northern Ireland Protocol had been “limited”.But Mr Šefčovič said the UK side had failed to engage with significant proposals put forward by the EU to make life easier for businesses moving goods between Northern Ireland and the British mainland.In an indication that patience is running short in Brussels, he said that further talks scheduled for next week in London would be an “important” moment in the process.The meeting came amid heightened expectations that Mr Johnson will invoke Article 16 of the protocol to suspend elements of his deal, at the risk of triggering a trade war.Analyst Mujtaba Rahman, director of the Eurasia Group and a former official at both the UK Treasury and European Commission, said that Brussels’ response to the move would be “nuclear” and would involve the suspension of last year’s post-Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement.“I expect no intermediate step (tariffs),” he said. “Just an immediate, emergency EU Council and a political decision to suspend the UK-EU trade deal.”Mr Rahman said he did not expect any suspension of the TCA – effectively imposing a “no deal” Brexit – to come into effect until 2023, and said it was possible Mr Johnson would “bottle it” rather than go head towards an election year in a trade war which could force up prices in the shops.But he said: “Next year will see a re-run of Brexit – renegotiation of Irish border issue, with the threat of no deal tariffs looming in the background… Strap in – seems things are about to get very, very bumpy indeed.”Speaking in Brussels, Mr Šefčovič said the EU had “spared no effort” in drawing up a package to cut back customs-related red tape and do away with 80 per cent of sanitary checks on animal products.But he said: “This was a big move by us but until today we have seen no move at all fom the UK side.“I find this disappointing and, once again, I urge the UK government to engage with us sincerely.“From this perspective I see next week as an important one. “We should focus all efforts on reaching a solution as soon as possible. Our aim should be to establish stability and predictability for Northern Ireland.”The article permits either the UK or EU to unilaterally suspend elements of the Northern Ireland deal if it is shown to be causing  serious “economic, societal or environmental difficulties” or diversion of trade that are liable to persist.However, it also makes clear the other side can retaliate with “proportionate rebalancing measures”, which could include the imposition of tariffs on UK goods.Brussels has repeatedly stated that it will not comply with UK demands to remove the European Court of Justice from any jurisdiction over affairs in Northern Ireland.ECJ involvement was agreed by Mr Johnson and Lord Frost when they negotiated the protocol in 2019, because the agreement effectively leaves Northern Ireland within the EU’s single market area. But they have recently insisted that the Luxembourg court’s role is an unjustified infringement of UK sovereignty.Mr Šefčovič warned: “We hear a lot about Article 16 at the moment.“Let there be no doubt that triggering Article 16 to seek the renegotiation of the protocol would have serious consequences – serious for Northern Ireland as it would lead to instability and unpredictability, and serious also for EU/UK relations in general as it as it would mean a rejection of EU efforts to find a consensual solution to the implementation of the protocol.”In a statement, a spokesperson for the UK government said that in today’s meeting, Lord Frost had “underlined that progress had been limited and that the EU’s proposals did not currently deal effectively with the fundamental difficulties in the way the protocol was operating.“He added that, in the UK view, these gaps could still be bridged through further intensive discussions. He underlined that the UK’s preference was still to find a consensual solution that protected the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and the everyday lives of people in Northern Ireland.” More

Related video: Zahawi admits he didn’t read standards committee report on Paterson – despite voting to save himBoris Johnson has been accused of attempting to save a “friend and colleague” from suspension and rewrite Commons conduct rules in order to bat away a similar sleaze inquiry into the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat.Labour MP Margaret Hodge told The Independent that the “only logical explanation” for the PM’s controversial decision to try to save Owen Paterson from a 30-day suspension for paid lobbying was that he was concerned about possible investigations by standards commissioner Kathryn Stone into his own behaviour – and that of other leading Tories.Amid the fallout, the Conservative Party’s longstanding poll lead dropped by five points. The latest YouGov survey, conducted for The Times between Wednesday and Thursday, shows the Conservatives down by three points on 36 per cent, and Labour up two points on 35 per cent. Meanwhile, the EU’s Maros Sefcovic has accused the UK of failing to “engage” in talks over the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol, and warned of “serious consequences” if the PM suspends the arrangements by triggering Article 16.Follow our live coverage belowShow latest update

1636123765Watch: Labour demands apology from PM over Paterson row Labour demands apology from Boris Johnson over Owen Paterson rowSam Hancock5 November 2021 14:491636121397EU warns of ‘serious consequences’ in NI trade rowOn the other side of the table, the EU seem far less optimistic. The European Commission accused the UK government of failing to “engage” in talks over post-Brexit rules for Northern Ireland, and warned of “serious consequences” if Boris Johnson suspends the arrangements by triggering Article 16.While Lord Frost said progress had been “limited”, EU Commission VP Maros Sefcovic said the UK had failed to engage with significant proposals put forward by the bloc to make life easier for businesses moving goods between Northern Ireland and the British mainland.In an indication that patience is running short in Brussels, he said that further talks scheduled for next week in London would be an “important” moment in the process, reports our political editor Andrew Woodcock.Sam Hancock5 November 2021 14:091636121260‘Limited’ progress in Brexit talks, says No 10Over to Brussels now, where Lord Frost, following talks with the EU Commission VP, says progress on the Northern Ireland Protocol has been “limited”.Downing Street said Lord Frost had reported the EU’s proposals “did not currently deal effectively with the fundamental difficulties in the way the Protocol was operating”, but gaps between they UK and EU “could still be bridged through further intensive discussions”.Lord Frost and Maros Sefcovic will meet again in London next week and officials will continue discussions during the week.Sam Hancock5 November 2021 14:071636120358Boris Johnson attempt to rewrite sleaze rules ‘designed to avoid flat inquiry’Boris Johnson has been accused of launching his abortive bid to rewrite the rules on parliamentary standards to fend off a potential sleaze inquiry into the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat.Labour MP Margaret Hodge told our political editor Andrew Woodcock that the “only logical explanation” for the PM’s politically disastrous decision to try to save Owen Paterson from sanction for paid lobbying was that he was concerned about possible investigations by the standards commissioner into his own behaviour and that of other leading Tories.Jane Dalton5 November 2021 13:521636119911‘Up to standards commissioner’ if she probes PM’s flat refurbishment – No 10Downing Street said it was “entirely a matter for the commissioner” whether she opens an investigation into the initial funding of the prime minister’s flat refurbishments.Asked whether No 10 would condemn any pressure MPs put on Kathryn Stone, the parliamentary standards commissioner, over the potential probe, a spokesman for the Boris Johnson said officials “obviously … wouldn’t want to see that happening”.He continued: “Our focus, as we’ve been discussing, is on the appeals process and making sure we have a process in place that is similar to other walks of life.”It comes following anger over the government’s decision to conflate the possible changes to standards rules with the singular case of now-resigned Tory MP Owen Paterson.There was also a suggestion, by his former chief aide Dominic Cummings, that the PM launched a “pre-emptive strike” on Ms Stone before she was able to scrutinise so-called Wallpapergate.Sam Hancock5 November 2021 13:451636119499Paterson quits consultancy workOwen Paterson says he will be “stepping aside” from his consultancy work following his resignation from the Commons.The former MP tweeted: “Thank you to the many people who have sent their kind wishes to me and my family this week.“At this difficult time, I will be stepping aside from my current consultancy work to focus on my family and suicide prevention.”Jane Dalton5 November 2021 13:381636118711Watch: Labour urge MP to step down after she is spared jailLabour urge Claudia Webbe to step down as MP after she is spared jailSam Hancock5 November 2021 13:251636117511What did Owen Paterson do? Everything you need to knowBoris Johnson’s government is mired in sleaze claims after No 10 tried to save Conservative Party MP Owen Paterson from suspension while seeking to rip up the Commons disciplinary process.But, what was the Tory MP found to have done wrong? Why did the government U-turn? And how do the parties now agree on a disciplinary procedure following the saga described by Labour as a “sleazy mess”?Adam Forrest takes a closer look.Sam Hancock5 November 2021 13:051636116311PM declared Marbella trip in ‘transparent’ way, says No 10Responding to the news Labour is seeking an investigation into Boris Johnson’s Marbella holiday, No 10 said the PM had declared the trip in the correct way.“Earlier this year, the prime minister received hospitality from a longstanding friend who provided use of their holiday home,” a spokesman for Mr Johnson told reporters.“The prime minister’s met the transparency requirements in relation to this, he declared this arrangement in his ministerial capacity, given this was hospitality provided by another minister.”He added the PM’s ministerial standards adviser Lord Geidt had scrutinised the declaration as part of the process.The spokesman did, however, decline to answer when asked how much the holiday was worth. More

Labour has asked the parliamentary watchdog at the centre of the “sleaze” storm to investigate whether Boris Johnson failed to properly declare a free holiday funded by the family of Tory peer Zac Goldsmith.The prime minister has declared his October stay at a luxury villa in Spain in the register of ministerial interests – but Labour say it has not been listed in the register of members’ interests as required.Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has written to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone to demand a formal probe.In a letter to the commissioner, Ms Rayner said: “This appears to be a breach of the House code of conduct and the rules relating to the conduct of members regarding the declaration and registration of interests and gifts.”But Downing Street insisted that the PM had “met transparency requirements”, and there was no need for declarations under the ministerial code to be repeated in the MPs’ register of interest.Mr Johnson has written to the Commons registrar to make clear he did not intend to add details of the visit on the MP’s register, said a No 10 spokesperson.And the spokesperson declined to discuss the value of the holiday provided to the PM free by the Goldsmith family.The rulebook on MPs’ interests sates that members must register any visit outside the UK where the cost is more than £300, unless they have paid the full bill themselves.But the rules also state that there is no requirement to register “visits wholly unconnected with membership of the House or with the member’s parliamentary or political activities (e.g., family holidays)”. And they say that ministers do not have to register “donations or other support received in a member’s capacity as a minister, which should be recorded, if necessary, within the relevant government department in accordance with the Ministerial Code.”Ms Rayner said that under a previous conduct inquiry into the PM’s luxury vacation in Mustique it had been found that “Mr Johnson was required to register the holiday accommodation he received in the register of members’ interests”.And she added that Mr Johnson “has a long history of breaching the rules in relation to parliamentary standards”, adding: “We cannot have a situation where Boris Johnson behaves like it’s one rule for him and another for everyone else.”Mr Johnson’s latest update to the register of ministerial interests has revealed that his recent stay in the Marbella villa was funded by the Goldsmith family – but did not say how much it was worth.It stated: “The prime minister has a longstanding personal friendship with the Goldsmith family and, in that capacity, in October 2021 stayed in a holiday home in southern Spain, which was provided free of charge by the Goldsmiths.”Asked today why details had not been entered in the Commons register, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “The prime minister received hospitality from long-standing family friends who provided the use of their holiday home.“In line with the transparency requirements, the PM has declared this arrangement in his ministerial capacity, given this was hospitality that was provided by another minister.“This was a family holiday at the home of long-standing family, friends and is unconnected with the PM’s parliamentary and political activities.“The PM has written to the House of Commons registrar to set out that this holiday has been declared under the ministerial code because the arrangement is with another minister. “Ministerial code declarations fall outside the remit of the House of Commons registrar and parliamentary standards commissioner.”Liberal Democrat cheif whip Wendy Chamberlain said: “Boris Johnson and the Tories have shown this week they don’t have a shred of integrity left.”The independent Standards Commissioner should urgently launch an investigation into whether Boris Johnson breached the code of conduct by failing to properly declare his holiday.”The Tories have shown they can’t be trusted to mark their own homework on this issue. They are now the party of sleaze.”Mr Johnson’s conduct has come under close scrutiny again following the Owen Paterson debacle, which saw No 10 U-turn on its plan to rewrite disciplinary rules and save the Tory MP from suspension.The government has denied that the prime minister was attempting to reduce the power of Ms Stone’s office ahead of a potential probe into his flat refurbishment.The allegation had been made by his former aide Dominic Cummings – who claimed Downing Street was keen to land blows against both Ms Stone’s office and the Electoral Commission.Mr Johnson has been investigated by the commissioner three times. Most recently, the PM was found by Ms Stone’s office to have broken the rules over declaring his luxury stay in Mustique – but the cross-party standards committee chose not to endorse the finding and cleared him of wrongdoing.Potentially, Mr Johnson faces a fourth investigation into the initial financing of the lavish refurbishment of his Downing Street flat.Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge has reported Mr Johnson to the standards commissioner over the matter – but Ms Stone’s office has not yet announced whether it will look into allegations of misconduct.The Electoral Commission has been investigating the complex financing of the flat refurbishment at Downing Street – which involved a series of payments and repayments.Tory party chiefs have reported been given the electoral watchdog’s initial findings. It is understood that Ms Stone’s office will wait to hear the Electoral Commission’s findings before deciding whether a further probe is necessary.Cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi said on Friday that it was “absolutely not true” that the prime minister wanted to diminish Ms Stone’s office ahead of a potential probe into his flat makeover. More

Boris Johnson has been accused of launching his abortive bid to rewrite the rulebook on parliamentary standards in order to fend off a potential sleaze inquiry into the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat.Labour MP Margaret Hodge told The Independent that the “only logical explanation” for the PM’s politically disastrous decision to try to save Owen Paterson from sanction for paid lobbying was that he was concerned about possible investigations by standards commissioner Kathryn Stone into his own behaviour and that of other leading Tories.In a letter to Dame Margaret – seen by The Independent – Ms Stone confirmed that she was delaying a decision on whether to launch a probe until after the outcome of a separate Electoral Commission investigation into the controversial refurb, reported to have cost up to £200,000.The Commission today confirmed that the initial findings of its investigation into the “cash-for-curtains” affair have been provided to the Conservatives, to allow the party to make any representations about them before the preparation of its final report.Downing Street declined to say whether Mr Johnson had seen the findings and whether he will be responding personally to them.Mr Johnson’s botched attempt to tear up the Commons sleaze rules was yesterday described by his former chief adviser Dominic Cummings as “a pre-emptive strike” against both the Commission and Ms Stone in a bid to cover up alleged “lies” to an earlier investigation conducted by the PM’s independent ethics adviser Lord Geidt – something No 10 has denied.Mr Cummings has called on Ms Stone to call witnesses to answer questions on the affair, and today said: “The Electoral Commission – like Geidt  – has so far interviewed NONE of the people who know/involved in PM’s illegal secret donations.”The development came amid continuing anger on the Tory backbenches over the humiliating U-turn which saw Mr Johnson order them to vote on Wednesday for a revamp of standards rules to save Mr Paterson’s skin, only to reverse his position the next day in the face of “Tory sleaze” headlines.Anger was particularly strong among younger members of the 2017 and 2019 intake, many of whom hold Red Wall seats by wafer-thin majorities and who do not want to be tainted by sleaze allegations linked to older colleagues. One 2019 MP was reported to have confronted Mr Paterson with an expletive-laden rebuke in the voting lobby.Downing Street today failed to deny reports that Tory MPs had been told that regeneration cash could be withheld from their constituencies if they broke the three-line whip in Wednesday’s vote.But a No 10 spokesperson said that Mr Johnson continues to have “full confidence” in chief whip Mark Spencer and leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg, who were instrumental in the scheme to get Paterson off the hook by instituting a review of sleaze rules by a Tory-dominated committee, which would have considered granting him and other erring MPs a right to appeal against Ms Stone’s findings.After business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng came under fire for suggesting that it was “difficult to see a future” for the independent commissioner, Downing Street said that Mr Johnson accepted Ms Stone should not be put under political pressure as she makes her decision on whether to launch an investigation into the flat renovation.Asked if the PM would condemn any MP trying to put presure on her to drop the complaint, initially made by Margaret Hodge in April, the spokesperson said: “Obviously we wouldn’t want to see that happening.”Lord Geidt’s report in May found that there was no conflict of interest in the funding arrangements for the makeover, but said that the PM was “unwise” to embark on the expensive work without knowing how it would be paid for. Prime ministers can call on public funds for the first £30,000 spent a year on the flat, but Mr Johnson also took £58,000 from Tory donor Lord Brownlow, which he eventually repaid out of his own pocket.Dame Margaret told The Independent: “The only logical explanation for deliberately ignoring a clear case of corruption (in the Paterson affair) is that there are more cases coming down the line and they wanted to stop them happening. Mine is one of them.”In her 7 May letter responding to Dame Margaret’s call for an inquiry into the funding of the flat refurbishment, Ms Stone said; “I have made no decision on whether it would be appropriate for me to look into the actions of the Prime Minister in his capacity as an MP.“In order to avoid potentially prejudicing their ongoing investigation, I will await the outcome of the Electoral Commission’s inquiry before making any decision.”A Commission spokesperson declined to give any timetable for the Conservative Party’s response to its findings or the eventual publication of the full report.“The initial findings of our investigation have gone to the party, and it now has time to make any representations about those findings,” said the spokesperson. “This is in line with our standard practice and is designed to ensure fairness for those being investigated.“Following this period, we will consider any response and make a final decision. We will publish our findings at that point, and will not be making further comment until then.” More

MPs should be paid more to prevent further lobbying scandals in future, a Tory MP has suggested less than 24 hours after former government minister Owen Paterson resigned amid a huge backlash over his “egregious breach” of standards.Sir Peter Bottomley suggested the basic salary for MPs of £81,932 per year is not a fair level of remuneration for the amount of work they must undertake.His comments come as Boris Johnson’s government is again marred by accusations of sleaze after a botched attempt to rip up standards rules to prevent the suspension of Mr Paterson, the MP for North Shropshire, who last night quit, triggering a by-election in the ultra-safe Conservative seat.Mr Paterson, the former secretary of state for Northern Ireland, was found by a cross-party parliamentary standards committee to have breached the MPs’ code of conduct.Kathyrn Stone, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, last week recommended a Commons ban of 30 sitting days for Mr Paterson, after an inquiry concluded that he used his position to repeatedly lobby on behalf of two companies – Randox and Lynn’s Country Foods – who paid him more than £100,000 per year.Resigning last night, Mr Paterson continued to maintain his innocence, insisting that he had done nothing wrong. The row exploded on Wednesday, when the prime minister gave his backing to an amendment by Tories MPs’ to prevent Mr Paterson’s suspension and a move to re-write disciplinary processes. No 10 said that the system is not fit for purpose and needs reforming.Writing for Times Red Box after Mr Paterson resigned, Sir Peter, MP for Worthing West and father of the house, said: “Thick skin, a raincoat and a sense of proportion are what I recommend to prospective members of parliament.”Who can serve? Someone on a low income may find the financial adjustment welcome, while the well-off will not be particularly bothered by the pay level. The interesting questions come for the reasonably successful.”Sir Peter, who has spoken out about MPs pay on several occasions in the past, said that parliament will fail to attract top talent if MPs did not get paid more.He cited the salaries of top judges, teachers, trade union officials and doctors, suggesting that they should not be forced to what he said would amount to a pay cut if they decided to stand for elected office. “MPs do not ask for a life that is easy, comfortable or risk-free. We can expect the terms to encourage people as good if not better than us to try to join or to replace us. A reasonably successful professional should be rewarded fairly, neither excessively nor meanly,” Sir Peter added.Downing Street declined to comment on Sir Peter’s comments.The explosive fallout over Mr Paterson’s case rumbles on today, with the PM facing a fierce backlash from those within his own party as well as the Opposition.Senior Conservatives are said to be questioning Mr Johnson’s judgement following another dramatic and humiliating climbdown that has put another huge dent in the government’s reputation for fairness.One former minister branded No 10’s handling of the situation “incoherent”, while ex-chief whip Mark Harper said that the three-line whip ordered by Mr Johnson amounted to “one of the most unedifying episodes I have seen in my 16 years as a member of parliament”.Another ex-minister told The Independent that MPs – particularly the younger 2019 intake in marginal red wall seats in the Midlands and the north – were “apoplectic with rage” at being ordered to vote in a way that gave the impression they were bending the rules to save their colleague.Supporters of Mr Paterson say he was blindsided by the abrupt move by No 10 to ditch plans for a new Tory-dominated committee to rewrite Commons standards procedures, which would have granted him a stay of execution after he was found guilty of paid lobbying.Labour leader Keir Starmer has previously accused the government of “corruption” on the case, which it denies. Meanwhile, deputy leader Angela Rayner has demanded an investigation into business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng’s public speculation about the future of parliament’s standards watchdog.He suggested that Ms Stone should “consider her position” in the wake of the scandal.Mr Paterson’s resignation from parliament has been officially announced. In a statement, the Treasury said: “The Chancellor of the Exchequer has this day appointed the Rt Hon Owen William Paterson to be Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead.”A by-election will now take place in Mr Paterson North Shropshire constituency, although no date has yet been set as to when the vote will take place.Labour has confirmed it will contest the seat after initial talks with the Lib Dems and Green about supporting an independent “anti-sleaze” candidate. More

Labour has demanded an investigation into business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng’s public speculation about the future of parliament’s standards watchdog.The cabinet minister suggested that Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone should “consider her position” in the wake of the Owen Paterson debacle.Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has written to Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser calling for an investigation into his comments, claiming they may have breached the ministerial code – as well as being “a rotten way for anybody to behave”.In a letter to Lord Geidt, Ms Rayner suggested Mr Kwarteng’s comments amounted to bullying. “For the business secretary to use this entirely corrupt process to bully the independent Parliamentary Commissioner is disgusting.”“This type of behaviour has no place in our democracy. A cabinet minister publicly threatening the position of a member of staff who serves the Houses of Parliament and upholds our democratic processes is a fundamental breach of the ministerial Code.”She suggested Mr Kwarteng could be in breach of a section of the code which requires ministers to “treat all those with whom they come into contact with consideration and respect” and for working relationships to be “proper and appropriate”.Earlier, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle rebuked Mr Kwarteng. “I do appeal to members – whether they are secretary of state or whoever – please, staff members of this House shouldn’t be named, they’ve not got the right of reply or the ability to defend themselves.”Asked whether Ms Stone should resign on Thursday morning – hours before an astonishing U-turn in the government’ position – Mr Kwarteng said: “To consider her position is a natural thing.”The minister told Sky News: “I think it’s difficult to see what the future of the commissioner is, given the fact that we’re reviewing the process, and we’re overturning and trying to reform this whole process.”Asked about Mr Kwarteng’s comments, fellow cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi said: “Kathryn Stone works … for parliament. It’s up to parliament how that relationship works.”The education secretary told BBC Breakfast: “Kwasi [Kwarteng] agrees that Kathryn Stone and her position is up to parliament.”Meanwhile, Labour has indicated it will put up a candidate in the looming North Shropshire by-election prompted by the resignation of Mr Paterson.Informal discussions were held between Labour, the Lib Dems and Green Party over whether they could unite behind a single anti-sleaze candidate after the debacle which saw the Tory quit as an MP.But Sir Keir Starmer’s party is understood to have decided to field a candidate in the West Midlands constituency, in which Mr Paterson had a comfortable majority of almost 23,000.Mr Paterson quit as an MP rather than face the prospect of being suspended from Parliament for 30 sitting days for an alleged breach of lobbying rules.The senior Tory announced his resignation after Boris Johnson was forced to abandon a plan to prevent Mr Paterson’s immediate suspension by launching a review of the entire disciplinary system.The farcical series of events have led to some Tories pointing the finger of blame at chief whip Mark Spencer, although Downing Street insisted Mr Johnson had confidence in him and the “excellent job” he was doing.Labour also condemned claims Tory MPs were threatened with the loss of money for their area if they failed to back the government. Potential rebels were told they would “lose funding for their constituency” if they did not voted the right way on Wednesday, according to the Financial Times.Labour chair Anneliese Dodds said: “Threatening to hold money back from voters and their communities, all to protect a Tory MP who broke the rules. If true this marks a new low for Johnson’s scandal-ridden Conservatives.” More

The Conservative Party’s longstanding poll lead has been cut by five points in the wake of the Owen Paterson debacle – described by Labour as a “sleazy mess”.Boris Johnson now faces a by-election in North Shropshire set to be dominated by claims of corruption following an astonishing U-turn by Downing Street and the Tory MP’s stunning resignation.A furious backlash forced the prime minister to abandon his plan to overhaul the disciplinary process while preventing Mr Paterson’s 30-day suspension for a breach of lobbying rules.The latest YouGov poll shows the Tories down by three points on 36 per cent and Labour up two points on 35 per cent.The survey for The Times was carried out on Wednesday evening and Thursday – shortly after the government’s controversial Commons vote to save Mr Paterson and rewrite conduct rules.Political polling analyst Mike Smithson said: “The polling takes place amidst very special circumstance. The question is, will it be prolonged or will those not ready to say Conservative now swing back slowly in the next few weeks or months?”He added: “My guess is that there will be a shift back but it will take time and it might not be all of them.”Labour has indicated it will put up a candidate in the looming North Shropshire by-election prompted by the resignation of Mr Paterson.Informal discussions were held between Labour, the Lib Dems and Green Party over whether they could unite behind a single anti-sleaze candidate after the debacle which saw the Tory quit as an MP.But Sir Keir Starmer’s party is understood to have decided to field a candidate in the West Midlands constituency, in which Mr Paterson had a comfortable majority of almost 23,000.Labour also condemned claims Tory MPs were threatened with the loss of money for their area if they failed to back the government. Potential rebels were told they would “lose funding for their constituency” if they did not voted the right way on Wednesday, according to the Financial Times.Labour chair Anneliese Dodds said: “Threatening to hold money back from voters and their communities, all to protect a Tory MP who broke the rules. If true this marks a new low for Johnson’s scandal-ridden Conservatives.”The farcical series of events over Mr Paterson have led to some Tories pointing the finger of blame at chief whip Mark Spencer, although Downing Street insisted Mr Johnson had confidence in him and the “excellent job” he was doing.But Mr Johnson is also facing considerable anger from his own benches. One ex-minister told The Independent that MPs – particularly the 2019 “red wall” intake – were “apoplectic with rage” at being told to vote in a way which appeared that they were bending the rules to save their colleague.“Some really new colleagues with wafer-thin majorities just cannot believe the ineptitude with which this has been handled,” said the MP. “It’s been awful, cr*p, useless.”Sir David Lidington, former Tory leader of the House of Commons, told Radio 4’s Today programme that the mess had “weakened the government”.He said: “Clearly there was a pretty appalling set of misjudgments involved … If you ask your troops to march through the lobby on something like this and which they don’t think is right and then you U-turn on it, it’s going to be more difficult next time around.”But education secretary Nadhim Zahawi said Mr Johnson’s astonishing U-turn on Thursday showed “character”.Admitting it was a “mistake” for the government to conflate the Tory MP’s case with an attempt to change conduct rules – he claimed on LBC that the PM had been wise not to “plough on ahead regardless”. More