Owen Paterson: Who is the Tory MP who’s quit after lobbying uproar?

Published

4 years ago

November 4, 2021

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Owen Paterson has resigned as MP for North Shropshire after the government performed a U-turn over the controversial blocking of his 30-day Commons suspension for breaching lobbying rules.

Mr Paterson has served as a Conservative MP since 1997, and although departing the Commons from the backbenches, was previously a cabinet minister.

Growing up on his family’s farm in Shropshire, Mr Paterson went on to study history at Cambridge University before joining the National Leathersellers College and joining his family business – British Leather Company.

Before going into politics, the now 65-year-old was president of COTANCE (the Confederation of National Associations of Tanners and Dressers of the European Community).

After an unsuccessful attempt at securing the seat of Wrexham in 1992, he was elected as Conservative MP for North Shropshire five years later with a majority of 2,195.

Mr Paterson increased his majority at every election thereafter, up to 22,949 in the latest 2019 election.

The North Shropshire MP served in the cabinet during the Tory-Lib Dem coalition years – as Northern Ireland secretary from 2010 to 2012, and environment secretary from 2012 to 2014.

As Northern Ireland secretary, Mr Paterson oversaw the publication and delivery of the Saville Report on the events of Bloody Sunday in January 1972, which led to an apology by then-prime minister David Cameron.

He was also the first cabinet member to publicly oppose the coalition government’s Marriage (Same Sec Couples) Bill, defying both Mr Cameron and ministerial convention.

In 2014, Mr Paterson was dismissed as environment secretary by Mr Cameron as part of his 2014 reshuffle. He was replaced with Liz Truss, who is now foreign secretary.

In an interview in 2013 about the alleged failure of a badger cull he had been responsible for, Mr Paterson said “the badgers have moved the goalposts”.

Mr Paterson voted and spoke strongly against the fox hunting ban.

He has also previously been accused of being a climate change sceptic, having formerly described wind turbines as “ridiculous” and “useless”. He has also supported fracking.

From the backbenches, the North Shropshire MP became a leading supporter of the campaign to leave the European Union and was an outspoken member of the European Research Group (ERG) of Eurosceptic Tory MPs.

In 2015, Mr Paterson and fellow Conservative Brexiteer John Redwood founded the internal pressure group Conservatives for Britain, and formed the backbone of the party’s Leave campaign.

He has also served on many committees during his time as a parliamentarian, including the Welsh Affairs Committee, the European Standing Committee, and the Agriculture Committee.

On 24 June 2020, Mr Paterson’s wife Rose Paterson – who was Aintree’s chairman – took her own life on his birthday.

Last month, following a two-year investigation, the parliamentary commissioner for standards found that Mr Paterson had breached the rule prohibiting paid advocacy by making multiple approaches to government departments and ministers for two companies.

Mr 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. The commissioner recommended that he should be suspended from the Commons for a month.

The allegations related to his conduct between October 2016 and February 2020.

Mr Paterson was paid more than £110,000 per year to act as a consultant for the two separate companies.

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.

Mr Paterson has three children, and in his resignation statement posted on social media, said he had made the decision to stand down from his role after “consultation with my family”.

Politics

UK-US trade deal ‘isn’t worth the paper it’s written on’, says Nobel Prize-winning economist

Published

8 hours ago

May 11, 2025

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UK-US trade deal 'isn't worth the paper it's written on', Nobel Prize-winning economist tells Sky News

A Nobel Prize-winning economist has told Sky News the recently announced UK-US trade deal “isn’t worth the paper it’s written on”.

Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump announced the “first-of-a-kind” agreement with a live, televised phone call earlier this week – and the British prime minister hailed the deal as one that will save thousands of jobs in the UK.

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But leading economist Joseph Stiglitz has told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips he “wouldn’t view [the deal] as a great achievement”.

“Any agreement with Trump isn’t worth the paper it’s written on,” he said, pointing out the president signed deals with Canada and Mexico during his first term – only to slap them with hiked tariffs within days of returning to the White House this year.

“I would view it as playing into Trump’s strategy,” he said.

“His strategy is divide and conquer, go after the weakest countries, and sort of put the stronger countries in the back.”

The scramble to secure a UK-US trade deal was sparked by Mr Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ announcement last month, which saw the president hike import tariffs for multiple countries and subsequently send global markets crashing.

China initially faced tariffs of 34% and when Beijing hit the US with retaliatory rates, a trade war quickly ensued.

The US and China now impose tariffs of above 100% on each other, but representatives from the two countries have this weekend met for high-stakes negotiations.

With its response to Mr Trump, Beijing “made it very clear that the US is very dependent on China in so many ways,” Mr Stiglitz said.

“So they’re beginning now to negotiate, but from a position of strength.”

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Asked if he thinks the UK should have focused on its relationship with the EU instead of the US, Mr Stiglitz said: “Very much so.

“My view is that if you had worked with the EU to get a good deal, you could have done better than what you’ve done.

“If it turns out, in the end, when you work it all out, Trump is unhappy, he’ll run. If he’s unhappy, I pray for you.”

Among the terms in the UK-US trade deal are reduced tariffs on British car and steel exports to the US, while the UK has agreed to remove a tariff on ethanol, used to produce beer.

The agreement also opens a new agricultural exchange, with US farmers being given access to the UK for the first time – though UK food standards on imports have not been weakened.

Politics

Ex-UFC champ Conor McGregor touts Irish Bitcoin reserve in presidential bid

Published

15 hours ago

May 11, 2025

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Ex-UFC champ Conor McGregor touts Irish Bitcoin reserve in presidential bid

UFC fighter turned Irish political candidate Conor McGregor has endorsed the idea of building a Bitcoin reserve in his country to give more “power back to the people.”

“Crypto in it’s origin was founded to give power back to the people. An Irish Bitcoin strategic reserve will give power to the people’s money,” McGregor wrote to X on May 9.

The former UFC champion said he would discuss his plans in more detail in an upcoming X spaces, prompting responses from some of the Bitcoin industry’s most prominent leaders.

“We need the greatest minds for this BTC Reserve. Message me and lets chat on my space,” McGregor said in response to Bitcoiner and host of The Pomp Podcast, Anthony Pompliano.

One of US President Donald Trump’s crypto advisors, David Bailey, also reached out, to which McGregor responded: “David message me, let’s discuss your ideas!”

McGregor announced his independent candidacy for the Irish presidency in late March 2025, centering his campaign on anti-immigration policies and combating crime.

Ireland’s next presidential election must take place by Nov. 11, 2025, as the term of the current President, Michael D. Higgins, is set to end the day after.

Establishing a Bitcoin reserve — let alone one coming from a minor, independent party — would be no easy feat.

Despite recent regulatory progress, the US, El Salvador and Bhutan are among the few countries that have established a Bitcoin reserve to date.

McGregor’s political visibility was recently boosted by a trip to the White House, where he met Trump and received his support.

However, McGregor is facing intense scrutiny in Ireland, having recently been found guilty of sexual assault in a civil case — a conviction which he has since appealed — while also previously being investigated for hate speech crimes.

McGregor’s last crypto endeavor failed

McGregor’s push for a Bitcoin reserve comes a little over a month after the McGregor-backed REAL project failed to attract sufficient funding in its token launch pre-sale, prompting a full refund to all token bidders.

The team behind the project, Real World Gaming, only raised $392,315 over a 28-hour presale on April 5 and 6, less than half of the $1 million minimum requirement that it initially set.

Magazine: Adam Back says Bitcoin price cycle ’10x bigger’ but will still decisively break above $100K

Politics

Ukraine presses Russia for 30-day ceasefire as Starmer among leaders in Kyiv for talks

Published

1 day ago

May 10, 2025

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Ukraine presses Russia for 30-day ceasefire as Starmer among leaders in Kyiv for talks

Sir Keir Starmer has joined other European leaders in Kyiv to press Russia to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

The prime minister is attending the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine at the same time – arriving in the capital by train – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.

Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.

“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”

Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” for at least 30 days starting on Monday.

Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement.

European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing

Dominic Waghorn

International affairs editor

@DominicWaghorn

The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.

But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.

The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.

The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.

European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.

Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.

But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.

Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.

“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.

“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”

The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.

But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.

“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.

“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”

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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.

They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.

Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.