Ex-MP sues government over lobbying downfall
FORMER MP Owen Paterson is taking the Government to court – claiming a lobbying investigation that led to his resignation breached his human rights.
The Tory, 66, has lodged a formal complaint with the European Court of Human Rights, which asked the Government to respond to his allegations yesterday.
It comes eight years after the arch Brexiteer argued the UK should not just quit the EU but replace the European Convention on Human
Rights – on which the European Court of Human Rights adjudicates.
In a summary of his case, the court said: “The applicant complains his Article 8 rights were infringed, as the public finding that he had breached the Code of Conduct damaged his good reputation.
“And that the process by which the allegations against him were investigated was not fair in many basic respects.” Last November the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, found the then-Conservative MP for North Shropshire had breached the Commons code of conduct by lobbying ministers and officials for two companies paying him more than £100,000 a year.
The Commons Standards Committee said his actions were an “egregious” breach of the rules for MPs on paid advocacy and recommended he be suspended for 30 days.
Mr Paterson said the lobbying investigation was “biased” and “not fair”, saying it had been a contributing factor in the suicide of his wife of 40 years, Rose.
Then-prime minister Boris Johnson tried to change the rules to stop Mr Paterson’s ban, before being forced to U-turn 24 hours later in the face of public anger.
Sleaze accusations around the case were among a series of controversies that engulfed Mr Johnson, ultimately leading to his downfall.
Downing Street declined to comment on the case.