Markus Andrews

Owen Paterson has decided to resign as the Tory MP for North Shropshire after being found to have breached lobbying rules, saying: “I will remain a public servant but outside the cruel world of politics.”It comes after Boris Johnson’s government performed a screeching U-turn over the decision to block the former cabinet minister’s suspension with plans to create a Conservative-dominated committee to rewrite House of Commons sleaze rules.Wednesday’s vote prompted widespread outrage, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer branding it government “corruption” and the chair of the current Standards Committee describing it as the kind of action that might be expected in Russia.As a result of the government climbdown on Thursday – less than 24 hours after ordering MPs to vote for new committee – Mr Paterson was again due to face a vote on the 30-day suspension recommended by Westminster’s standards watchdog after he was found guilty of lobbying ministers and regulators on behalf of companies paying him more than £100,000 a year.Rather than face a fresh vote on a possible six-week ban, Mr Paterson, however, said he would resign as an MP, triggering a by-election in North Shropshire — a constituency he has represented for 24 years.He last won the seat at the 2019 winter election with a considerable majority and over 62 per cent of the vote, with Labour’s candidate trailing behind in second place. “I have today, after consultation with my family, and with much sadness decided to resign as the MP for North Shropshire,” the former Tory cabinet minister said in a statement on Thursday.Referring to the two-year investigation into his breach of the Commons code of conduct, he said: “The last two years have been an indescribable nightmare for my family and me. My integrity, which I hold very dear, has been repeatedly and publicly questioned.“I maintain that I am totally innocent of what I have been accused of and I acted at all times in the interests of public health and safety. I, my family and those closest to me know the same. I am unable to clear my 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.”Describing the past few days as “intolerable”, he 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.“This is a painful decision but I believe the right one. I have loved being the MP for North Shropshire and have considered it a privilege to have been elected to serve my constituents for 24 years.”More follows More

Jacob Rees-Mogg announces U-turn over sleaze committee following backlashOwen Paterson has resigned as MP for North Shropshire. Mr Paterson, who was facing suspension from the Commons over a finding he had accepted payment for lobbying activities but insisted he was innocent, said: “I will remain a public servant but outside the cruel world of politics.”It came shortly after Boris Johnson’s government completed a full U-turn on yesterday’s vote to set aside recommendations Mr Paterson be suspended and create a new sleaze system for parliament.A new vote was set to take place next week allowing MPs to decide on Mr Paterson’s suspension and undo the creation of Andrea Leadsom’s new standards regime. The plan, for which the government whipped its MPs sparking a huge backlash, did not even get off the ground on Thursday.Lord Evans, chair of the independent committee on standards in public life, said this morning the “extraordinary proposal [was] deeply at odds with the best traditions of British democracy”, adding it “cannot be right this was accompanied by repeated attempts to question the integrity of the commissioner on standards herself”.Show latest update

1636037221Paterson to work to promote cause of suicide preventionOwen Paterson, who has just resigned as an MP after 24 years representing North Shropshire, says he will “remain a public servant but outside the cruel world of politics”.He added: “I intend to devote myself to public service in whatever ways I can, but especially in the world of suicide prevention.”Mr Paterson’s wife Rose died by suicide.Jon Sharman4 November 2021 14:471636036706Paterson insists he is innocent and says last two years have been ‘indescribable nightmare’Owen Paterson has said the last two years “have been an indescribable nightmare for my family and me”, amid the investigation into his lobbying activities.However he insisted he was innocent of wrongdoing. He added: “I acted at all times in the interests of public health and safety.”His resignation statement continued: “I, my family and those closest to me know the same. I am unable to clear my 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.“She was everything to my children and me. We miss her everyday and the world will always be grey, sad and ultimately meaningless without her.”Mr Paterson said his children had asked him to leave politics after seeing their mother’s suicide mocked.“I do not want my wife’s memory and reputation to become a political football,” he said.Jon Sharman4 November 2021 14:381636036434Owen Paterson quits as MPOwen Paterson has resigned as MP for North Shropshire.He said: “I will remain a public servant but outside the cruel world of politics.”Jon Sharman4 November 2021 14:331636035325Tory MP reappointed as Gove aide less than 24 hours after losing job for defying governmentAngela Richardson has been reappointed to her role as a ministerial aide to Michael Gove less than 24 hours after being dismissed for defying the government on a vote to prevent Owen Paterson’s suspension, writes Ashley Cowburn.The MP’s prompt return from a brief stint on the backbenches came after the government was forced to perform a humiliating U-turn, ditching plans for a Conservative-dominated committee to rewrite Commons sleaze rules.Jon Sharman4 November 2021 14:151636034574No 10 denies Cummings’ claim about govt’s ‘preemptive strike’ on standards commissionerDowning Street has denied claims that proposals to overhaul the standards process were a “preemptive strike” on commissioner Kathryn Stone to protect Boris Johnson’s own interests.The PM’s former chief aide Dominic Cummings made the accusation on Twitter, but the PM’s official spokesman, when asked if that was the case, said: “No.”Pressed if Mr Johnson felt he made a mistake, his spokesman said the PM “fully recognises the strength of feeling in the House … and therefore understands that it’s right to change the approach and to decouple those two issues”.Here’s that tweet by Cummings:Sam Hancock4 November 2021 14:02163603394522 Tory MPs investigated by parliament’s watchdog voted to overhaul itA group of 22 Conservative MPs who voted for the government’s botched overhaul of parliament’s disciplinary process have been investigated by the conduct watchdog, writes Adam Forrest.Boris Johnson’s government was forced into an extraordinary U-turn over controversial plans to rip up the standards system after widespread outrage.Jon Sharman4 November 2021 13:521636033563Paterson found out about U-turn in shops – from a journalistOwen Paterson, the former Tory minister who was the focus of yesterday’s standards vote, is said to have had no idea Downing Street was performing a U-turn on the decision to delay his immediate suspension. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme, the broadcaster’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg said the MP was in a supermarket when he got the news – on a phone call from a BBC journalist.MPs had voted 250 to 232 in favour of an amendment to the Commons standards procedure, which would have seen a new committee – with a Tory majority – decide Mr Paterson’s fate. However, ministers were forced to backtrack following reprisal from inside and outside Westminster. More

In a humiliating U-turn, Boris Johnson has ditched plans for a Tory-dominated committee to rewrite House of Commons sleaze rules and will instead seek cross-party talks on changes.And Conservative former minister Owen Paterson will now face a renewed vote on the 30-day suspension recommended by Westminster’s sleaze watchdog after he was found guilty of lobbying ministers and regulators on behalf of companies paying him more than £100,000 a year.A vote expected next Tuesday will reopen the Paterson case, potentially exposing him to a by-election challenge. The same division will overturn last night’s decision to establish the new committee.It is understood that, unlike yesterday, Tory MPs will not be whipped, so Mr Paterson’s sympahisers could still seek to vote down the punishment recommended by the Commons Standards Committee after he was found guilty of paid lobbying.Wednesday’s vote prompted widespread outrage, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer branding it government “corruption” and the chair of the current Standards Committee, Chris Bryant, describing it as the kind of action that might be expected in Russia.But Boris Johnson initially attempted to brazen the furore out, sending business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng onto the airwaves to defend his plans in a series of TV and radio interviews.Shortly after Mr Kwarteng’s appearances, however, the PM accepted that it would not be possible to impose reforms through a Tory-only committee, after opposition parties made clear they would not take part.The move was branded “pathetic” by Mr Rees-Mogg’s Labour shadow Thangam Debbonaire, who said it would not resolve the problems created by Wednesday’s vote.“The government’s pathetic attempt to hide from their actions doesn’t fix anything,” she said.“Last night, they voted to allow corruption to take place unimpeded at the heart of British politics.“MPs must now vote to uphold the sanctions against Owen Paterson. Any other result will allow Boris Johnson to create one rule for Tory MPs, another for everyone else.”The clumsy climbdown infuriated Tory MPs, many of whom were unhappy to be whipped by Boris Johnson into voting to spare their colleague his punishment.Former chief whip Mark Harper, one of 13 MPs who defied the whip to vote against last night’s amendment, said: “This is one of the most unedifying episodes I have seen in my 16 years as a Member of Parliament. “My colleagues should not have been instructed, from the very top, to vote for this. This must not happen again.”Guildford MP Angela Richardson was hurriedly reinstated to her job as a parliamentary aide to Michael Gove, after being sacked last night for abstaining, and veteran backbencher Peter Bone said his constituency office was vandalised after he voted to overrule the sanction.Downing Street today said that the prime minister continues to have full confidence in chief whip Mark Spencer, part of whose job is to avoid the kind of debacle resulting from the decision to give full government support to an amendment in Paterson’s favour tabled by Tory backbencher Andrea Leadsom.But Downing Street notably did not back up Mr Kwarteng’s suggestion that it was “difficult to see” a future for standards commissioner Kathryn Stone, whose report found that Paterson had breached the MPs’ code of conduct rule against “paid advocacy” by contacting ministers and regulators at least 14 times on behalf of Randox and Lynn Country Foods.Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA union, which represents senior civil servants, said of the business secretary’s remarks: “Make no mistake, this is not some accidental misspoken comment.“This is part of an orchestrated and deliberate attempt to not only undermine the independent authority of a regulator but to influence decision-making and set a marker down for the future.”But asked if Ms Stone should consider her position, the PM’s official spokesman said only: “That is entirely a matter for her.” Mr Rees-Mogg admitted that the vote preventing Mr Paterson’s suspension had “created a certain amount of controversy” and said he wanted to “break the link” between his individual case and the government’s goal of adding an appeals mechanism to the Commons standards investigation process.To incredulous laughter from the opposition benches in the chamber of the Commons, he told MPs: “It is important that standards in this House are done on a cross-party basis.“The House voted very clearly yesterday to show that it is worried about the process of handling these complaints and that we would like an appeals system, but the change would need to be on a cross-party basis and that is clearly not the case.“While there is a very strong feeling on both sides of the House that there is a need for an appeals process, there is equally a strong feeling that this should not be based on a single case or apply retrospectively.“I fear last night’s debate conflated an individual case with the general concern. This link needs to be broken.“Therefore I and others will be looking to work on a cross-party basis to achieve improvements in our system for future cases.“We will bring forward more detailed proposals once there have been cross-party discussions.”Mr Bryant told MPs that the government’s actions had left the Commons in a “quagmire”. He said the standards committee – a cross-party panel of seven MPs and seven lay members – was ready to resubmit its report recommending a 30-day suspension for Mr Paterson, so MPs can vote again before they break for recess on Tuesday next week.Liberal Democrats have secured permission from Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle for a three-hour debate on sleaze on the floor of the Commons next Monday.The party’s chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said: “This corrupt government thought they could get away with rigging the system without anyone realising. Now they have been forced into a humiliating U-turn after a huge public backlash.“The Tories are still leaving the door open to setting up a crony committee in future. We must not let them off the hook for future investigations, whether it’s into dodgy Covid contracts or the redecorating of Boris Johnson’s flat.”Naomi Smith, CEO of internationalist campaign group Best for Britain, said: “Today we saw the cracks in the prime minister’s teflon coating when, on this rare occasion, the sleaze that embodies this government stuck.“Despite the welcome U-turn, this will not be the end of this government’s attack on democracy, whose current legislative agenda will untether them from even the slightest form of accountability by parliament, by protest or at the polls” More

Boris Johnson’s government is mired in sleaze claims after No 10 chose to save Conservative Party MP Owen Paterson from suspension while seeking to rip up the Commons disciplinary process.Even the right-wing Daily Mail ran a scathing front-page headline suggesting Tory MPs had “sunk back into sleaze” after they voted to review Mr Paterson’s lobbying case and the standards system.So what was the Tory MP found to have done wrong? Why has the government now U-turned on Mr Paterson’s case and its planned overhaul of the rules? And how do the parties now agree on a disciplinary procedure following the saga described by Labour as a “sleazy mess”?What did Owen Paterson do?Kathyrn Stone, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, last week recommended a Commons ban of 30 sitting days for Mr Paterson in a report subsequently approved by a group of cross-party group of MPs on the standards committee.Ms Stone’s inquiry found Mr Paterson repeatedly lobbied on behalf of two companies paying him more than £100,000 per year – Randox and Lynn’s Country Foods – in what the investigation report described as an “egregious case of paid advocacy”.Mr Paterson argued that most of his approaches to officials fell within the “serious wrong” exemption in the lobbying rules, which permit an MP to approach officials with evidence of a “serious wrong or substantial injustice”.But with the exception of one meeting about concerns over milk testing, the committee did not accept that Mr Paterson’s approaches fell within the exemption.Why did Tory MPs vote to save Paterson? What did they vote for?On Wednesday Conservative MPs were ordered by the party whips not to back the standards committee’s call for Mr Paterson to be suspended for 30 days – a ban which could have seen him face a recall petition from his constituents.A planned yes-no vote on Mr Paterson’s suspension was superseded by Tory MP Dame Andrea Leadsom’s amendment to establish a new, Tory-led, committee to reconsider both Mr Paterson’s case and whether a new standards system is needed.Backed by Downing Street, Tory MPs were told to vote for Dame Andrea’s amendment, a vote the government won 250 to 232 votes.Some 13 Tories rebelled and dozens more abstained. As the backlash from Tory abstainers mounted on Thursday, Tobias Ellwood, chair of the defence select committee, said: “The optics of this do not look good … We’ve lost the argument and indeed some of the moral high ground.”So what exactly did the government want to change?The amendment approved the set-up of a new oversight committee, which will be led by former Tory minister John Whittingdale. Although the idea is to have four Tory MPs and four opposition MPs look at the standards system, Whittingdale would have the deciding vote.The plan was immediately thrown into chaos as Labour, the SNP and Liberal Democrats vowed to boycott it – depriving the new panel of any real cross-party authority.The government has also been accused of trying to “bully” the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner – the independent investigator of cases of alleged misconduct – out of her job after a senior minister suggested Ms Stone “consider her position”.Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “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.”Mr Paterson – who remains unrepentant and defiant – also called for Ms Stone to quit and suggested MPs on the cross-party standards committee should resign. “[They] all have to go,” he said after the vote.Has the government now U-turned on its plan?In an apparent climbdown on plans for a Tory-dominated committee to rewrite the conduct rules, Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg told MPs on Thursday morning that he would now seek cross-party talks on reform.Mr Rees-Mogg conceded that the link between Mr Paterson’s case and need for wider reform “needs to be broken”, adding: “We will bring forward more detailed proposals once there have been cross-party discussions.”No 10 then made clear at lunchtime that Mr Paterson will now have to face a fresh vote on the 30-day suspension. A vote expected next Tuesday will reopen the MP’s case, and the same vote will ask MPs if they wish to overturn last night’s decision to establish the new committee.The government’s thinking may have changed after a furious backlash from dozens of Tories who did not back the government. Jill Mortimer, one of the red wall Tories who rebelled, said: “This was a colossal misjudgement.”Labour has also reportedly prepared adverts highlighting every Tory MP who voted in favour of the Leadsom amendment. More

Boris Johnson’s government has been accused of attempting to “bully” the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone out of her job after a cabinet minister said she should consider her position.Labour said it was “appalling” for the government to question the future of the standards watchdog after Conservative MPs vote to save Owen Paterson from a 30-day suspension and establish a new, Tory-led committee to review the standards system.And a Whitehall union leader said that it formed “part of an orchestrated and deliberate attempt” to undermine the regulator.Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng appeared to back Mr Paterson’s own call for Ms Stone to “consider her position” on Wednesday – making it clear the government wanted an overhaul of the standards system.The business secretary told Sky News: “It’s difficult to see what the future of the commissioner is, given the fact that we’re reviewing the process, that we’re overturning and trying to reform this whole process.”Mr Kwarteng said it was “natural” for Ms Stone to review whether she should continue. “It’s up to the commissioner to decide her position … To consider her position is a natural thing. I’m not saying she should resign.”However Downing Street notably failed to back up the business secretary’s comments.Asked a few hours later, following Boris Johnson’s humiliating U-turn on rewriting sleaze rules, whether Ms Stone should consider her position, the PM’s official spokesman said: “That is entirely a matter for her.”Labour’s shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire responded: “Having already ripped up the rules policing MP’s behaviour to protect one of their own, it is appalling that this corrupt government is now trying to bully the standards commissioner out of her job.”Labour chair Anneliese Dodds later said ministers were “bullying” and criticising the “referee” when a Tory MP had been found to have done something wrong.She told Sky News: “She shouldn’t be bullied by Conservative government – she was doing her job and doing it independent. It’s frankly appalling that you see those government figures seeking to bully her at this stage.”Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA union, which represents senior civil servants, said of the business secretary’s remarks: “Make no mistake, this is not some accidental misspoken comment.“This is part of an orchestrated and deliberate attempt to not only undermine the independent authority of a regulator but to influence decision-making and set a marker down for the future.”Ms Stone’s office told The Independent that she intends to remain in post until the end of her term in December 2022, and the existing standards committee has insisted that it will continue its work.Dozens of Tories abstained and 13 rebelled after being told to vote instead for an amendment to establish a new, Conservative-led, committee to reconsider both Mr Paterson’s case and whether a new standards system is needed.But the plan to establish the new committee, to led by former Tory minister John Whittingdale, was thrown into chaos when Labour, the SNP and the Lib Dems all vowed to boycott it.Ms Dodds urged the government to perform a U-turn on its plan to overhaul standards process to help get parliament out of the “sleazy mess”.“Really what they need to do is to look again. It’s not for Labour to answer the questions for the Conservative government – they’ve created this sleazy mess, now they’ve got to get our parliament out of it,” the Labour chair said.Labour MP Chris Bryant, chair of the standards committee, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “Nobody’s abolished the standards committee – it still exists.”On the Tory plan for a new committee, he said: “We never set up a committee without cross-party agreement. How could you possibly change the rules without cross-party agreement? … The government has created a rod for its own back here. This will not end well.”The row was triggered when Ms Stone’s investigation found he repeatedly lobbied on behalf of two companies for which he was acting as a paid consultant, Randox and Lynn’s Country Foods.Mr Paterson claimed the investigation was unfairly conducted and argued the manner in which it was carried out had played a “major role” in his wife Rose’s suicide last year. More

A group of 22 Conservative MPs who voted for the government’s botched overhaul of parliament’s disciplinary process have been investigated by the conduct watchdog.Boris Johnson’s government was forced into an extraordinary U-turn over controversial plans to save Tory MP Owen Paterson from suspension and rip up the standards system.Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said on Thursday he would seek “cross-party” changes after opposition parties vowed to boycott a “corrupt” new Tory-led committee tasked with reviewing the process.But it has emerged that nearly two dozen Tory MPs who backed the idea of overhauling the standards system have come under scrutiny from the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone.The amendment to save Mr Paterson from suspension and review the conduct rules only passed by 18 votes – so could not have gone through without MPs who have faced probes.Three of five Conservative MPs currently being investigated by the commissioner – James Cleverly, David Warburton and Daniel Kawczynski – all backed the government’s failed plan on Wednesday.Mr Cleverly and Mr Warburton face scrutiny over whether or not they follow the rules on declaring their interests concerning gifts, benefits and hospitality. Mr Kawczynski, meanwhile, is being probed over whether his actions have damaged the reputation of the House – having already been found to have behaved in a “threatening and intimidating manner” towards parliamentary staff. He apologised “unreservedly” for his behaviour. Another 19 MPs have had allegations upheld against them by Ms Stone’s office, mostly over the failure to follow the rules on registering their interests.They are: Adam Afriyie; Scott Benton; Crispin Blunt; Peter Bone; Maria Caulfield; Robert Courts; Richard Drax; David Duguid; Iain Duncan Smith; Mark Francois; George Freeman; Adam Holloway; Karl McCartney; Natalie Elphicke; Roger Gale; Theresa Villiers; Bob Stewart; Chloe Smith; Craig Tracey.Earlier this year, Mr Johnson 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 the PM of wrongdoing.Meanwhile, Mr Johnson has admitted receiving a free holiday at a Spanish villa linked to Tory colleague Zac Goldsmith. An update to the register of ministerial interests has shows the PM’s Johnson’s stay at the Marbella property in October was funded by the Goldsmith family.No 10 has come in for intense criticism for blocking Mr Paterson’s suspension after he was found to have broken lobbying rules, while seeking to rip up the disciplinary process at the same time.Several senior Tories have spoken out against the failed manoeuvre. “This is one of the most unedifying episodes I have seen in my 16 years as a MP,” said former chief whip Mark Harper. “This must not happen again.”Fellow Tory abstainer Tobias Ellwood, chair of the defence select committee, said: “The optics of this do not look good … We’ve lost the argument and indeed some of the moral high ground.”Much of the Tories’ effort to overturn the verdict against Mr Paterson and reform conduct rules has been focused on the Ms Stone – the independent parliamentary commissioner who monitors their conduct.Prior to the government’s astonishing U-turn on Thursday, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng suggested Ms Stone should “consider her position”. He told Sky News: “It’s difficult to see what the future of the commissioner is.”Ms Stone’s office told The Independent that she intends to remain in post until the end of her term in December 2022, and the cross-party standards committee has made clear that it will continue its work.No 10 has made clear Mr Paterson will now have to face a fresh vote on the 30-day suspension. A vote expected next Tuesday will reopen the MP’s case, and the same vote will ask MPs if they wish to overturn last night’s decision to establish the new committee. More

Angela Richardson has been reappointed to her role as a ministerial aide to Michael Gove — less than 24 hours after being dismissed for defying the government on a vote to prevent Owen Paterson’s suspension.The MP’s prompt return from a brief stint on the backbenches came after the government was forced to perform a humiliating U-turn, ditching plans for a Conservative-dominated committee to rewrite Commons sleaze rules.Announcing the climbdown, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Commons leader, acknowledged that the vote last night preventing Mr Paterson’s suspension had “created a certain amount of controversy”.The former Tory cabinet minister had been found by parliament’s independent standards commissioner to have lobbied ministers and regulators on 14 occasions on behalf of two private companies which paid him more than £100,000 a year.Mr Richardson was among dozens of Conservative MPs to abstain — defying a three-line whip — as the government ordered its benches to neuter parliament’s sleaze watchdog and prevent Mr Paterson’s 30-day suspension.In a tweet at 7.18pm on Thursday — shortly after the Commons vote — Angela Richardson said she had “enjoyed” being a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the senior Conservative minister Mr Gove.“I abstained on the Leadsom amendment today aware that my job was at risk, but it was a matter of principle for me,” she insisted.But in a remarkable turnaround, Ms Richardson posted on social media at 11.36am on Thursday that she was “pleased to be reappointed to my role as PPS to Michael Gove” — alongside a hashtag “LevellingUp”.Reacting to reappointment, Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said: “As I’ve been saying, Tory ministers must outlaw fire and rehire. It’s a despicable and immoral practice.“I never thought it would get quite as bad as them firing and rehiring members of their own frontbench, though.”The government’s actions on Wednesday provoked fury from the opposition, including Sir Keir Starmer, who said Labour would not participate in the “utter shame process” and branded the move “corruption”.Conservative MP Mark Harper — a former chief whip — also posted on Thursday: “This is one of the most unedifying episodes I have seen in my 16 years as a Member of Parliament.“My colleagues should have not have been instructed, from the very top, to vote for this. This must not happen again.” More

Boris Johnson has been accused of “staggering hypocrisy” after he took a private jet back from the Cop26 climate summit to attend a private members’ club dinner in London. The Tuesday night dinner at The Garrick Club in the West End was for a reunion of Daily Telegraph journalists. The PM, a former Telegraph columnist, was pictured leaving the club at around 10pm, escorted to the door by Lord Charles Moore, his former editor at the paper.Lord Moore, has describe the climate crisis as “speculation”, is also a close personal friend of Conservative MP Owen Paterson, who was recently found to have misused his position as an MP to lobby for two companies he worked for. Mr Paterson avoided suspension for his actions after the government ordered its MPs on Wednesday to back a review of standards investigations. Mr Johnson had already faced criticism for jetting 400 miles from Glasgow to London on Tuesday after warning the world at the Cop26 summit that more action was needed to tackle climate change. Downing Street previously said “time constraints” meant the PM could not make the four-and-half journey by train.The Daily Mirror reported Mr Johnson left Cop26 conference in Glasgow at 6.20pm and arrived at London Stansted at 7.16pm before heading to the dinner at The Garrick Club.MP Anneliese Dodds, Labour Party chair, said: “This is staggering hypocrisy from the prime minister. “After warning world leaders it’s one minute to midnight to prevent climate catastrophe, Boris Johnson clocked off from Cop26, jumped in his private jet and flew down to London for dinner at a gentleman’s club with a self-confessed climate change sceptic. “It seems that when it comes to taking action to tackle the climate crisis, there’s one rule for the Conservatives and another rule for the rest of the world.”Lord Moore wrote in the Daily Telegraph last week that “no emergency has been proved” by climate scientists. “If you want an example of a true emergency, think of Covid in March last year. A climate emergency, on the other hand, is a speculation,” he said.Mr Johnson’s spokesperson said: “It is important that the prime minister is able to move around the country and we have obviously faced significant time restraints.”A No 10 spokesperson added: “All travel decisions are made with consideration for security and time restraints.“The prime minister travelled on one of the most carbon efficient planes of its size in the world, using the most sustainable aviation fuel possible. “The UK will be offsetting all carbon emissions associated with running Cop26 including travel.” More