This is not a party political matter.
For example, the LD leader Ed Davey undertakes outside work as a consultant that is a ‘conflict of interest’ - should he be forced to resign?
What about all the "friends of foreign countries" parliamentary groups whose MP members lobby on behalf of these foreign states?
Owen Paterson was lobbying openly on behalf of a reputable diagnostics company (Randox) - why has he been pilloried when others haven't?
The "holier than thou" attitude of the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standards Committee, the ex-priest Chris Bryant, doesn't exactly fit with his previously less-than-strait behaviour in the parliamentary expenses scandal in 2009 - he overclaimed £92,000 in expenses over the five years leading up to the date when the scandal was exposed, according to Wikipedia. People in glass houses.....
"This is not a party political matter". Absolutely. (I don't think anyone ever said it was - look at the flack that has been directed at Vaz in posts above.)
If Paterson had accepted the 60 day suspension, it would have all been over next month; he's a backbencher, he might miss the odd committee meeting but otherwise nothing of note, his vote isn't crucial, he can continue constituency business as normal. He had to adopt the Jonathan Aitken 'trusty shield of British fair-play' defence.
Questions also persist regarding Randox’s ability to land Covid-19 contracts worth around half a billion pounds, many awarded without tender, over the past year and a half.
Last week Mr Paterson resigned over findings that he breached lobbying rules in his work for both Randox – for which he was paid £100,000 a year – and Lynn’s Country Foods between November 2016 and February 2020.
The Sunday Times has highlighted a phone call that took place on 9 April last year between Mr Paterson and the conservative peer Lord Bethell, who was at the time the minister responsible for testing contracts. The phone conversation took place a week and a half after Randox was awarded a £133m contract to supply and analyse test kits.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has refused to release minutes of the call, the publication said.
This has not helped. The natural response is 'why?' Especially as:
Diagnostics company Randox, which paid Owen Paterson for lobbying work, won a coronavirus testing contract worth £133m just days before government officials confirmed it did not have enough equipment, according to documents.
He makes claims that he wasn't allowed to speak in his own defence which is blatant rubbish as there are documents to the contrary in the House of Commons Library.
Then our Prime Minister has to get on his high horse, defends Paterson at PMQs and puts a three line whip on the Leadsom amendment. I don't play poker but I understood that if you have a weak hand, you threw it in; if you keep calling and raising you stand to lose a lot if your opponent keeps on being dealt aces.
I am reminded that some Conservatives defied the whip and others sat on their hands, unable to support the amendment. It is an issue (primarily) of two men, one who refused to accept the imposition he was given and the other who thought that they could impose their will on their side of the Commons and backed down the minute there was any sign of opposition. A tail of stubbornness. arrogance and spinelessness. I don't know which is worse
No argument about Davey - but forced to resign? No! Maybe forced to choose. But the question of lobbying has only been raised because the DHSC has not released the minutes of the call made by Paterson (my guess is that they don't exist, isn't 'off the record' communication the reason why Bethell resigned?) Bryant was in the days of the MPs expenses scandal (duck houses and the clearing of moats and the like). According to the BBC (
BBC NEWS | Wales | Wales politics | Welsh Labour MPs' expense detail: )
Claim: According to the Telegraph, the newly-appointed Foreign Office minister "flipped" his second home twice in two years, claiming £20,000 for renovation and fees. He claimed more than £92,000 of expenses between three properties in Wales and London in the past five years, the paper said.
Response: Chris Bryant called the reports "unfounded and inaccurate". He said he was forced to move house in his constituency because of a series of attacks on his former home.
My personal view is that selling and buying a new home in Wales is justified in this case but the amount claimed was not. I would imagine that most Welsh MPs have a second home, because of the distance travelled. He wouldn't get away with 92k now (although at least one Mp has three homes).
Quotes from:
Owen Paterson row: Randox won £133m Covid testing contract despite lacking equipment (msn.com)
I would have preferred the Sunday Times original but much is behind a paywall.
