Ex-Tory minister faces suspension after lobbying on behalf of two companies
A former Conservative minister should be suspended from the Commons for lobbying on behalf of two companies, a standards body has ruled.
Owen Paterson was found to have “repeatedly used his privileged position” to benefit Randox, a clinical diagnostics company, and Lynn’s Country Foods, a meat processor and distributor and has been recommended for suspension from the Commons for a month.
The MP, who was environment secretary from 2012 to 2014, was a paid consultant for Randox from 2015 and for Lynn’s Country Foods from 2016. The allegations relate to his conduct between October 2016 and February 2020.
Mrs Paterson was chair of Aintree Racecourse
Following a two-year investigation, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards said he had breached the rule prohibiting paid advocacy by making multiple approaches to government departments and ministers for the two companies.
But Mr Paterson denies the allegations, saying he was raising very serious issues about food contamination and accused the commissioner, Kathryn Stone, of admitting to him she “made up her mind” before the allegations were put to him and that none of his 17 witnesses were interviewed.
He also claimed the investigation “undoubtedly played a major role” in his wife, Rose Paterson, taking her own life in June last year.
He said the investigation has been “catastrophic” for him and his three grown-up children and that his wife would ask him “despairingly” every weekend about the inquiry “convinced that the investigation would go to any lengths to somehow find me in the wrong”.
Mrs Paterson’s anxiety increased the more the investigation went on and she became convinced it would destroy his reputation and force him to resign, he said.
He also said she feared she would have to resign from her post as chair of Aintree Racecourse and as a steward of the Jockey Club, “two roles of which she was rightly enormously proud”.
Rose Paterson died last year
The MP said as a result of his interventions, “staple foods consumed by millions, milk and ham, are now safer than before” and said he would not hesitate to act in the same way again “despite this tortuous and inadequate investigation”.
He also called for parliamentary privilege to be waived so he could take his case to a court where he said: “A fair process would exonerate me.”
Mr Paterson was found to have breached the rules on lobbying on behalf of Randox by making three approaches to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) about the testing of antibiotics in milk in 2016 and 2017 and approaching ministers at the Department for International Development four times about its blood testing technology in those years.
On behalf of Lynn’s Country Foods, Mr Paterson breached the rules by making seven approaches to the FSA in 2017 and 2018 and failed to declare his interest as a paid consultant to the FSA in four emails between 2016 and 2018.
He was also found to have breached the rules on using parliamentary facilities by using his parliamentary office 16 times for business meetings with clients between 2016 and 2020, and sending two letters relating to his business interests on House of Commons headed notepaper.
The MP acknowledged he should not have used the headed notepaper and apologised but maintained he had not breached the code of conduct in any other respect.
Ms Stone’s recommendation Mr Paterson is suspended has to be voted on by MPs and usually occurs within five days.
A committee spokesman said it does not comment on published reports and the chair of the committee, Chris Bryant, suggested to Sky News that people should read the entirety of the report.
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An amber warning has been issued for snow in a part of the UK, likely to cause travel delays and “stranding some vehicles and passengers”.
The warning, which covers south west England, also warns some rural communities could become cut off and is in place until 2pm this evening.
Pic: Met Office
There is also a yellow weather warning for snow covering the southern counties of England until midnight on Wednesday.
The warning stretches from Kent to Cornwall and up to south London and the Met Office said between 2cm and 5cm of snow could accumulate fairly widely, with as much as 10cm over higher ground.
This week is expected to see the coldest nights of the year, with temperatures potentially reaching -14C on Wednesday night and -16C on Thursday night, both in the North East of England and Scotland, the Met Office said.
Weather warnings issued on Tuesday for snow and ice covering the parts of Wales, the North West of England, west and northern parts of Scotland as well as Northern Ireland will remain in place until midnight tomorrow.
The forecaster said some roads and railways are likely to be affected and there could be icy patches on untreated roads.
Pics: AP
Meanwhile the Environment Agency has said at least 300 properties have flooded across England since New Year’s Eve. It estimates more than 41,000 properties have been protected.
Heavy rainfall over the New Year caused significant river and surface water flooding across the North West of England and Yorkshire and snowmelt has brought further disruption to parts of England, particularly the Midlands, the agency said.
Read more from Sky News:
Terrifying firestorm rips through home of film stars and billionaires
Homes destroyed – how people are coping with floods
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Man says flooding ‘came out of nowhere’
Floods minister Emma Hardy said: “My sympathies go out to the people, businesses and communities impacted by the recent flooding across the country.
“I want to express my heartfelt thanks for the vital work that the Environment Agency and emergency services are doing to keep people safe. People must continue to follow their advice and sign up for flood warnings.”
Flood warnings
Some 100 flood warnings were in force across England on Wednesday, with people urged to remain vigilant over the coming days.
A danger-to-life warning was issued on Tuesday morning for the River Soar near Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, but was later removed.
People living in caravan parks in the area were urged by the Environment Agency to act, with a large-scale evacuation needed to save lives.
Firefighters have rescued dozens of people across Leicestershire since Monday, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said.
Hundreds of schools were closed across the UK, with road and rail links blocked, as Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool John Lennon airports suspended flights because of the conditions.
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