Government accused of ‘corruption’ after vote to stop MPs’ suspension for breaching lobbying rules
Boris Johnson’s government has been accused of “corruption” and “synonymous with sleaze, dodgy deals and hypocrisy” following a vote to protect Conservative MP Owen Paterson from being suspended.
The MP for North Shropshire was facing a 30-day suspension from the House of Commons for “repeatedly” breaching lobbying rules over his paid consultancy work on behalf of clinical diagnostics company, Randox, and Lynn’s Country Foods, a meat processor and distributor.
For his part, Mr Paterson said he “wouldn’t hesitate” to act in the same manner “tomorrow”.
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Paterson: ‘I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again’
Tory MPs were told not back the cross-party Standards Committee’s call to suspend him.
But 98 abstained and 13 rebelled after being told to vote instead for an amendment to establish a new Conservative-led committee to consider Mr Paterson’s case and review the entire standards process.
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‘Shame’: MPs vote against suspension of ex-minister
However, the movement was passed with a majority of 18 votes and since then a number of political figures have hit back at the outcome.
As the result was announced, there were cries of “shame” and “what have you done to this place” in the Commons.
Following the decision, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has accused the government of “corruption” and “wallowing in sleaze”.
He told The Guardian: “I am sick of people skirting around calling this out for what it is: corruption. Paterson was receiving money from a private company to ask questions on its behalf.”
‘Wallowing in sleaze’
He added that the Conservatives’ “plan is to permanently weaken the structures that hold MPs to high standards” and instead of “trying to sort things out, we have a government that wants to stitch things up”.
He also told the publication, “the rot starts at the stop” and “we have a prime minister whose name is synonymous with sleaze, dodgy deals and hypocrisy”.
His comments come as MP for Guildford, Angela Richardson announced she has left her role as a parliamentary aide to Michael Gove following the vote.
Making the announcement on Twitter, she said: “I abstained on the Leadsom Amendment today, aware that my job was at risk, but it was a matter of principle for me.”
The Father of the House, Sir Peter Bottomley, was one of the Tory MPs who refused to support the move to consider tearing up the standards system during the middle of Mr Paterson’s case.
“We chose the system we are now using,” he said. “If we want to consider changing it, we do it in a proper way instead of considering it in the way we are now.”
Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, said the party will “not be taking any part in this sham process or any corrupt committee”, with the Liberal Democrats and SNP also confirming they will boycott the committee being set up to look at the standards process.
Despite the backlash, Mr Paterson defended his actions to Sky News, saying he would have “no question” in acting the same way again.
He was found to have breached rules 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.
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Ex-minister defends lobbying for cash
Following a two-year investigation, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards said Mr Paterson had breached the rule prohibiting paid advocacy by making multiple approaches to government departments and ministers for the two companies.
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.
But Mr Paterson, who was environment secretary from 2012 to 2014, 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 has also claimed the investigation “undoubtedly played a major role” in his wife, Rose Paterson, taking her own life in June last year.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
European Union regulators are reportedly mulling a $1 billion fine against Elon Musk’s X, taking into account revenue from his other ventures, including Tesla and SpaceX, according to The New York Times.
EU regulators allege that X has violated the Digital Services Act and will use a section of the act to calculate a fine based on revenue that includes other companies Musk controls, according to an April 3 report by the newspaper, which cited four people with knowledge of the plan.
Under the Digital Services Act, which came into law in October 2022 to police social media companies and “prevent illegal and harmful activities online,” companies can be fined up to 6% of global revenue for violations.
A spokesman for the European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, declined to comment on this case to The New York Times but did say it would “continue to enforce our laws fairly and without discrimination toward all companies operating in the EU.”
In a statement, X’s Global Government Affairs team said that if the reports about the EU’s plans are accurate, it “represents an unprecedented act of political censorship and an attack on free speech.”
“X has gone above and beyond to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act, and we will use every option at our disposal to defend our business, keep our users safe, and protect freedom of speech in Europe,” X’s global government affairs team said.
Source: Global Government Affairs
Along with the fine, the EU regulators could reportedly demand product changes at X, with the full scope of any penalties to be announced in the coming months.
Still, a settlement could be reached if the social media platform agrees to changes that satisfy regulators, according to the Times.
One of the officials who spoke to the Times also said that X is facing a second investigation alleging the platform’s approach to policing user-generated content has made it a hub of illegal hate speech and disinformation, which could result in more penalties.
X EU investigation ongoing since 2023
The EU investigation began in 2023. A preliminary ruling in July 2024 found X had violated the Digital Services Act by refusing to provide data to outside researchers, provide adequate transparency about advertisers, or verify the authenticity of users who have a verified account.
Related: Musk says he found ‘magic money computers’ printing money ‘out of thin air’
X responded to the ruling with hundreds of points of dispute, and Musk said at the time he was offered a deal, alleging that EU regulators told him if he secretly suppressed certain content, X would escape fines.
Thierry Breton, the former EU commissioner for internal market, said in a July 12 X post in 2024 that there was no secret deal and that X’s team had asked for the “Commission to explain the process for settlement and to clarify our concerns,” and its response was in line with “established regulatory procedures.”
Musk replied he was looking “forward to a very public battle in court so that the people of Europe can know the truth.”
Source: Thierry Breton
Magazine: XRP win leaves Ripple a ‘bad actor’ with no crypto legal precedent set
US crypto exchange Coinbase has filed with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to launch futures contracts for Ripple’s XRP token.
“We’re excited to announce that Coinbase Derivatives has filed with the CFTC to self-certify XRP futures — bringing a regulated, capital-efficient way to gain exposure to one of the most liquid digital assets,” stated Coinbase Institutional on April 3.
The firm added that it anticipates the contract going live on April 21.
According to the certification filing, the XRP (XRP) futures contract will be a monthly cash-settled and margined contract trading under the symbol XRL.
The contract tracks XRP’s price and is settled in US dollars. Each contract represents 10,000 XRP, currently worth about $20,000 at $2 per token.
Contracts can be traded for the current month and two months ahead, and trading will be paused as a safety measure if spot XRP prices move more than 10% in an hour.
“The exchange has spoken with FCMs (Futures Commission Merchants) and market participants who support the decision to launch a XRP contract,” the firm stated.
Coinbase is not the first to launch XRP futures in the United States. In March, Chicago-based crypto exchange Bitnomial announced the launch of the “first-ever CFTC-regulated XRP futures in the US.”
XRP futures trading is available on many of the world’s leading centralized crypto exchanges, such as Binance, OKX, Bybit and BitMEX.
Funding rates remain negative
In late March, Cointelegraph reported that XRP derivatives’ funding rates had flipped negative as investor sentiment turned bearish.
Related: XRP funding rate flips negative — Will smart traders flip long or short?
Funding rates are periodic payments between traders in perpetual futures markets that help keep the futures price aligned with the spot price. Positive funding rates mean that long traders (buyers) pay short traders, while negative funding rates mean short traders (sellers) pay long traders.
When funding rates go negative, it means short traders are willing to pay a premium to maintain their positions, indicating strong conviction from bearish derivatives traders.
XRP funding rates remained negative on major derivatives exchanges as of April 4, according to CoinGlass.
XRP OI-weighted funding rates. Source: CoinGlass
Magazine: XRP win leaves Ripple a ‘bad actor’ with no crypto legal precedent set
Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao will begin advising the Kyrgyz Republic on blockchain and crypto-related regulation and tech after signing a memorandum of understanding with the country’s foreign investment agency.
“I officially and unofficially advise a few governments on their crypto regulatory frameworks and blockchain solutions for gov efficiency, expanding blockchain to more than trading,” the crypto entrepreneur said in an April 3 X post, adding that he finds this work “extremely meaningful.”
His comments came in response to an earlier X post from Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Zhaparov announcing that Kyrgyzstan’s National Investment Agency (NIA) had signed a memorandum with CZ to provide technical expertise and consulting services for the Central Asian country.
The NIA is responsible for promoting foreign investments and assisting international companies in identifying business opportunities within the country.
Source: Changpeng Zhao
“This cooperation marks an important step towards strengthening technological infrastructure, implementing innovative solutions, and preparing highly qualified specialists in blockchain technologies, virtual asset management, and cybersecurity,” Zhaparov said.
The Kyrgyzstan president added: “such initiatives are crucial for the sustainable growth of the economy and the security of virtual assets, ultimately generating new opportunities for businesses and society as a whole.”
Kyrgyzstan, which officially changed its name from the Republic of Kyrgyzstan to the Kyrgyz Republic in 1993, is a mountainous, land-locked country.
It is considered well-suited for crypto mining operations due to its abundant renewable energy resources, much of which is underutilized.
Over 30% of Kyrgyzstan’s total energy supply comes from hydroelectric power plants, but only 10% of the country’s potential hydropower has been developed, according to a report by the International Energy Agency.
CZ has met with several other state officials in Asia
Malaysia also recently tapped CZ for guidance on crypto-related matters, with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim meeting him personally in January.
CZ has also met with officials in the UAE and Bitcoin-stacking country Bhutan — however, it isn’t clear what those meetings entailed.
Related: Is Bitcoin’s future in circular economies or national reserves?
CZ’s latest pursuits come a little over six months after he was released from a four-month prison sentence in the US for violating several anti-money laundering laws.
Since being released, CZ has made investments in blockchain tech, artificial intelligence and biotechnology companies.
CZ also recently donated 1,000 BNB (BNB) — worth almost $600,000 — to support earthquake relief efforts in Thailand and Myanmar after the natural disaster in late April.
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