MP Owen Paterson quits ‘cruel world of politics’ after row over Commons suspension
Owen Paterson will resign as the MP for North Shropshire in order to escape “the cruel world of politics” following a furious row over his proposed ban from the House of Commons.
The Conservative former cabinet minister has been at the centre of a scandal after it was recommended he be suspended for 30 days.
Mr Paterson, who has been an MP for 24 years, was found by parliament’s independent sleaze investigator to have broken lobbying rules during his £110,000-a-year private sector work.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson had encouraged MPs to save Mr Paterson from immediate suspension
On Wednesday, Conservative MPs – with the encouragement of Prime Minister Boris Johnson – passed a motion in favour of ignoring Mr Paterson’s month-long Commons suspension.
As part of the backlash, the government was accused of “corruption” in seeking to overhaul parliament’s standards rules in an alleged effort to protect the Tory MP.
In the face of a huge outcry, the government performed a U-turn in the row on Thursday with the promise of a new vote on Mr Paterson’s suspension.
But, just hours later, the 65-year-old announced his intention to resign from the House of Commons.
“I have today, after consultation with my family, and with much sadness decided to resign as the MP for North Shropshire,” 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.”
Mr Paterson was last month found by a Commons watchdog to have “repeatedly used his privileged position” to benefit Randox, a clinical diagnostics company, and Lynn’s Country Foods, a meat processor and distributor.
He has continually declared himself “not guilty” and strongly criticised the investigation into his private sector work, which he said saw him raise serious issues about food contamination during his contact with officials.
Mr Paterson has also said the investigation into him “undoubtedly played a major role” in his wife, Rose Paterson, taking her own life in June last year.
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Paterson: ‘I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again’
In his resignation statement, he maintained that he “acted at all times in the interests of public health and safety” and claimed the current standards system in parliament would leave him “unable to clear my name”.
“Far, far worse than having my honesty questioned was, of course, the suicide of my beloved and wonderful wife, Rose,” he added.
“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. The last few days have been intolerable for us.
“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.”
Mr Paterson admitted his decision to resign was “painful” but “the right one”.
The 65-year-old is a former cabinet minister and had been an MP for 24 years
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer demanded an apology from the prime minister following the Westminster row over Mr Paterson’s suspension.
“This has been an unbelievable 24 hours even by this government’s chaotic standards,” he said.
“Only yesterday Boris Johnson was forcing his MPs to rip up the rules on standards in public life is a truly damning indictment of this prime minister and the corrupt government he leads.
“Boris Johnson must now apologise to the entire country for this grubby attempt to cover up for the misdemeanour of his friend.
“This isn’t the first time he’s done this but it must be the last. And Boris Johnson must explain how he intends to fix the immense harm he has done to confidence in the probity of him and his MPs.”
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
Bitcoin’s expanding institutional adoption may provide the “structural” inflows necessary to surpass gold’s market capitalization and push its price beyond $1 million by 2029, according to Bitwise’s head of European research, André Dragosch.
“Our in-house prediction is $1 million by 2029. So that Bitcoin will match gold’s market cap and total addressable market by 2029,” he told Cointelegraph during the Chain Reaction daily X spaces show on April 30.
Corporations are coming for your bitcoin (feat. André Dragosch, Head of Research at Bitwise) #CHAINREACTION https://t.co/5F3cRWBHzq
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) April 30, 2025
Gold is currently the world’s largest asset, valued at over $21.7 trillion. In comparison, Bitcoin’s market capitalization sits at $1.9 trillion, making it the seventh-largest asset globally, according to CompaniesMarketCap data.
Related: Bitcoin treasury firms driving $200T hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back
For the 2025 market cycle, Bitcoin may surpass $200,000 in the “base case” and $500,000 with more governmental adoption, Dragosch said.
“But once you see sovereign bias like the US government stepping in, all this will change to $500,000.”
“So the base case is $200,000, conditional on the US government not stepping in. If they step in, it will move closer toward $500,000,” said Dragosch, referring to the US government’s plan to potentially make direct Bitcoin acquisitions through “budget-neutral” strategies.
The US is looking at “many creative ways” to fund its Bitcoin investments, including from tariff revenue and by reevaluating the US Treasury’s gold certificates, creating a paper surplus to fund the BTC reserve without selling gold, Bo Hines of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets said in an interview on April 14.
Related: Crypto sentiment recovers, but weekend liquidity risks remain
“Structural” ETF inflows, institutional adoption prolong Bitcoin cycle
The US-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have surpassed all expectations during their first year of trading, exceeding record trading volumes as BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF became the fastest-growing ETF in history.
The first year is usually the “slowest” for ETFs, Dragosch said, highlighting the launch of the gold ETF:
“That alone implies that in the second and third year, we will see growing inflows. In terms of the four four-year cycle, implies that, this cycle will be prolonged by these structural inflows.”
The Bitcoin cycle may also be prolonged when US wirehouses start gaining exposure to Bitcoin and ETFs.
“In the US, the major distribution channels go via Wirehouses, which are essentially the big banks like Merrill Lynch or Morgan Stanley. […] Not even half of these wirehouses have opened up their distribution channels to US Bitcoin ETFs,” the analyst said.
Adoption from US wirehouses may bring a “huge amount of capital,” since these control over $10 trillion worth of customer assets, Dragosch added.
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Major European cryptocurrency investment firm 21Shares has filed for a spot Sui exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States, marking another step in its expansion to the US market.
21Shares on April 30 submitted the Form S-1 registration for a spot Sui (SUI) ETF to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Called the 21Shares Sui ETF, the proposed ETF will issue common shares of beneficial interest by seeking to track the performance of SUI held by 21Shares’ US subsidiary.
The US filing comes a year after 21Shares started trading the 21Shares Sui Staking exchange-traded product in Europe in July 2024, with its first listings on Euronext Paris and Euronext Amsterdam.
No ticker or planned exchange yet
The 128-page filing does not specify on which US exchange the new SUI ETF is expected to debut trading. The ETF also doesn’t have a ticker symbol yet.
“There is no certainty that there will be liquidity available on the exchange or that the market price will be in line with the NAV [net asset value] or the principal market NAV at any given time,” it states.
The filing highlighted that the ETF aims to provide exposure to SUI by holding the tokens directly, without utilizing leverage, derivatives or engaging in speculative trading.
Canary Capital was the first to file for Sui ETF
21Shares is not the first company to file for a Sui ETF in the US. Canary Capital, a US-based crypto investment firm, filed a Form S-1 registration for a spot Sui ETF on March 17.
Subsequently, Cboe BZX Exchange asked US regulators for clearance to list Canary’s Sui ETF in early April.
Sui-based ETPs have already been trading in Europe, with some of such products including 21Shares Sui staking ETP and VanEck Sui ETP.
Related: More than 70 US crypto ETFs await SEC decision this year — Bloomberg
According to the latest CoinShares update, Sui-based ETPs had $400 million in assets under management as of April 25.
Year-to-date, Sui ETPs have seen $72 million of inflows, with a fresh $20.7 million coming in just last week.
The latest ETF filing by 21Shares is yet another product joining a massive list of crypto ETFs awaiting the SEC’s decision.
According to Bloomberg ETF analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart, there were at least 72 new crypto ETF filings on the SEC’s table as of May 1.
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Banking giant Morgan Stanley reportedly plans to list cryptocurrencies on its E*Trade investment brokerage and trading platform.
According to a May 1 Bloomberg report, the firm intends to list crypto assets on E*Trade in 2026. The plan is still in early development, and the bank is said to be exploring partnerships with established crypto firms to power the service. Internal discussions about cryptocurrency support reportedly began in late 2024.
This would not be Morgan Stanley’s first exposure to digital assets. The bank’s wealthiest clients have had access to crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and futures for some time, with the firm’s advisers allowed to pitch Bitcoin ETFs since August 2024.
Related: Morgan Stanley to explore crypto offerings for clients — CEO
Regulatory tailwinds push crypto forward
The news follows previous reports that Morgan Stanley was considering adding cryptocurrency trading to its E*Trade online brokerage platform in early January. The reports at the time cited the expectations of a friendlier crypto regulatory environment.
The move comes amid an increasingly favorable regulatory environment in the United States following the election of President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a pro-crypto platform and is personally involved in several blockchain ventures.
Related: Morgan Stanley discloses $188M in BlackRock Bitcoin ETF holdings
The first 30 days of the Trump administration brought significant changes to the local crypto industry. More recently, US crypto proponents have shown optimism following the swearing-in of pro-crypto Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins.
The SEC had significantly changed its stance even before Atkins took office. In late February, the agency had already paused multiple cryptocurrency enforcement cases with imminent deadlines.
This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.
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