Paterson ‘was victim of a broken system’ over lobbying inquiry
THE daughter of a former Conservative Cabinet minister who faces being suspended from the Commons over lobbying allegations has said he is the victim of a broken political system which has prepetrated a “terrible miscarriage of justice” against him.
Owen Paterson, the Tory MP for North Shropshire and a former environment secretary, could be thrown out of Parliament for 30 days, potentially triggering a by-election, if MPs vote to back a recommendation by the parliamentary Committee on Standards this week.
The committee found that Mr Paterson had repeatedly lobbied on behalf of Randox, a clinical diagnostics firm, and Lynn’s Country Foods, a food manufacturer. His own register of interests suggests they paid him £112,000 a year, far more than his salary as an MP.
Mr Paterson said the two-year investigation by Kathryn Stone, the commissioner for standards, had “undoubtedly played a role” in his wife’s death last June. Rose Paterson, the former chairman of Aintree racecourse, was found dead in a woodland near the couple’s home. A coroner concluded that she had taken her own life.
Now the couple’s daughter Evie has condemned her father’s treatment at the hands of the parliamentary authorities. Writing in The Sunday Telegraph today, Ms Paterson says: “Over the past few months, it has slowly dawned on me that my family is not just the victim of a personal tragedy. We are also victims of a broken political system with no regard for its human cost.”
The 29-year-old financial analyst goes on: “One might think his wife’s suicide was punishment enough, particularly as our mother had become deeply anxious about the manner in which the investigation was conducted. Evidently not. As well as his wife of 40 years, he stands to lose his career and hardearned reputation.”
Ms Paterson denounced the investigation into her father’s conduct as a “dystopian nightmare”. She claims the commissioner for standards followed none of the basic principles of natural justice, with her father not allowed to defend himself publicly and her report full of factual errors.
Ms Paterson says her father is effectively being punished for trying to save lives, as he was simply trying to alert the authorities to the problem of dangerous carcinogens in milk and ham and the life-threatening consequences of not calibrating medical equipment given by the Department for International Development to developing countries.
“Leading experts confirm milk and ham are now safer for consumers due to my father’s actions, but this is lost in the accusations,” she writes.
She adds: “Anybody with any common sense could see that this torturously long process has been handled shockingly badly and my father is a victim of a terrible miscarriage of justice. The fundamental question is, what does this say about our political system? To me, that it is broken and inhumane. Partisanship and self-interest now take precedence over principle and reason.”
Dozens of backbenchers are said to be prepared to vote down the sanction against Mr Paterson. No10 has refused to say whether Tory MPs would be whipped to approve the suspension, but one Cabinet minister described it as “egregiously unfair” and warned that an “upswell” of feeling could prompt the Government to vote against it.
David Davis and Sir Iain Duncan Smith are among those backing Mr Paterson, while Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, told The Telegraph the case raised “clear questions about the absence of due process”.
‘Anybody with any common sense could see that this torturously long process has been handled badly’
Over the past few months, it has slowly dawned on me that my family is not just the victim of a personal tragedy. We are also victims of a broken political system with no regard for its human cost.
Last year, my mother took her own life. Last week, my father, the MP Owen Paterson, was condemned by the Parliamentary Standards Committee for “paid advocacy”. One might think his wife’s suicide was punishment enough, particularly as our mother had become deeply anxious about the manner in which the investigation was conducted. Evidently not. On Wednesday, the Commons will vote on the Committee’s report and its recommended punishment, a 30-day suspension, which could trigger a by-election. As well as his wife of 40 years, he stands to lose his career and hard-earned reputation.
It’s an easy narrative, isn’t it? One well suited to lazy dissemination across the Twittersphere. Sleazy Tory funded by big business got what he deserved. Except it could not be more wrong.
Having lived with my father during lockdown, my brothers and I have lived through this nightmare while grieving our beloved mother. I know I am not an objective observer. But anybody with any common sense could see that this process has been handled shockingly badly and my father is a victim of a terrible miscarriage of justice. A raft of lawyers has advised us throughout and at no point has any of them found any wrongdoing at all on my father’s part.
One would at least expect a complex investigation like this to be conducted by a lawyer. In addition, the person suspected of breaching the rules should be interviewed and witnesses spoken to before any decision is reached. This process should last a few weeks, not two years, particularly if the person involved suffers a traumatic bereavement during that time. During the process they should be entitled to defend themselves publicly. My father was given none of these basic legal rights. The fact that the final report is full of factual errors, while accusing him of playing the victim, is a further injustice.
Worse, he is being punished for trying to save lives. In every case, he was seeking to right a “serious wrong” as permitted by the Rules, either by alerting the authorities to dangerous carcinogens in milk and ham or the life-threatening consequences of not calibrating medical equipment given by the Department for International Development to developing countries. Experts confirm milk and ham are now safer for consumers due to my father’s actions. Do we really want to prevent MPs from attempting to right wrongs?
The fundamental question is: what does this say about our political system? To me, that it is broken and inhumane. Partisanship and self-interest now take precedence over principle and reason. Parliamentary privilege is no longer a safeguard protecting MPs from tyrannical monarchs but a mechanism to abuse them outside the legal system. MPs are no longer treated as human beings with families but symbols of ideologies unworthy of compassion. None of this is new; politics is politics.
But it comes at a terrible human cost. No sane person will enter politics in the knowledge that they will be subject to abuse, their reputation and family could be destroyed for no reason, and their life could be in danger. I certainly won’t. If Parliament votes to suspend my father it will be a validation of this broken system and the pattern of abuse will continue. I would not wish this ordeal on any other family, but I fear we may not be alone.