Eight MPs who risked recall petitions after breaking Commons rules since 2019
Only two recall petitions have been held, with most MPs resigning before undergoing the process.
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Your support makes all the difference.Rishi Sunak faces the prospect of yet another by-election after a recommendation to suspend Blackpool South MP Scott Benton from the Commons was upheld by an independent panel on Tuesday.
The 35-day suspension, which is likely to be approved by MPs in the coming days, is well in excess of the 10-day threshold that triggers a recall petition and potentially a by-election.
Seven MPs have already received suspensions of more than 10 days since the last election in 2019, although only two have faced recall petitions.
Below, the PA news agency looks at the cases of those MPs judged to have deserved a suspension of more than 10 days.
– Rob Roberts, Conservative, Delyn
Despite receiving a suspension of six weeks in May 2021, Rob Roberts was able to avoid facing a recall petition thanks to a procedural quirk that meant the provisions only applied to suspensions recommended by a parliamentary committee.
In Mr Roberts’ case, it was an independent panel that found he was guilty of “significant” misconduct after he made “repeated and unwanted sexual advances” towards a man.
Parliament has since closed the loophole that meant there was no recall petition for Mr Roberts, who remains an MP and sits as an independent.
– Owen Paterson, Conservative, North Shropshire
In November 2021, former cabinet minister Owen Paterson was found to have engaged in an “egregious” case of paid lobbying on behalf of two companies that employed him as a consultant.
The Standards Committee recommended he be suspended from the Commons for 30 days and, after initially attempting to overturn the decision, the Government backed down in the face of public outcry.
Mr Paterson, however, resigned before MPs approved his suspension, meaning no recall petition took place.
– Christian Matheson, Labour, City of Chester
Christian Matheson resigned in October 2022 after an investigation by Parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme upheld complaints of “serious sexual misconduct” against him and recommended he be suspended from the Commons for four weeks.
The Labour MP maintained the allegations were “untrue”, but the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner found he had made “unwanted and unwelcome sexual advances” towards a former member of his staff.
– Margaret Ferrier, SNP, Rutherglen and Hamilton West
A lengthy process saw Margaret Ferrier become the first MP of the current Parliament to be subject to a recall petition after she was suspended from the Commons for 30 days for bringing the House into disrepute.
Ms Ferrier had previously been found guilty of breaching pandemic regulations in September 2020 by travelling from London to Scotland by train despite testing positive for Covid-19.
Following her conviction in August 2022, the Standards Committee recommended she be suspended, triggering a recall petition that eventually saw almost 15% of her constituents demand a by-election. She did not stand in the subsequent contest, which was won by Labour’s Michael Shanks.
– Boris Johnson, Conservative, Uxbridge and South Ruislip
The former prime minister quit Parliament in June 2023 just before a report by the Commons Privileges Committee found him guilty of misleading the House over the Partygate scandal.
The committee recommended a suspension of 90 days, finding he had not only misled Parliament but had also been “complicit” in a “campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation of the committee”.
If he had not resigned, Mr Johnson would have faced the second-longest suspension ever recommended by the Standards Committee, second only to the six-month sanction recommended for Keith Vaz.
– Chris Pincher, Conservative, Tamworth
Former Tory whip Chris Pincher eventually resigned from Parliament in September 2023 after an investigation found he had drunkenly groped two men in the Carlton club more than a year earlier.
The Standards Committee had recommended suspending the MP, whose misconduct also brought about the downfall of Boris Johnson, for eight weeks.
Mr Pincher appealed the decision, but quit after his appeal was dismissed and before the Commons could vote on the proposed suspension.
– Peter Bone, Conservative, Wellingborough
Veteran Conserative MP Peter Bone was the subject of the 2019 Parliament’s second successful recall petition after he was suspended for six weeks for bullying and exposing himself to a member of his staff.
Mr Bone was suspended from the party following publication of the report in October 2023, but remained an MP until the recall petition was complete.
His partner, Helen Harrison, contested the subsequent Wellingborough by-election for the Conservatives, but was defeated by Labour’s Gen Kitchen.
– Scott Benton, Conservative, Blackpool South
Scott Benton’s attempt to overturn a recommended 35-day sanction after he was caught in a lobbying sting has failed, making a recall petition in his seat all but certain.
The Blackpool South MP was filmed by journalists from the Times offering to lobby ministers and table parliamentary questions on behalf of gambling investors.
If his suspension is approved by MPs, which is expected to be a formality, he will face a recall petition and a potential by-election in the spring.
– Others
Leicester East’s Claudia Webbe avoided facing a recall petition after her 10-week suspended prison sentence for harassment was reduced on appeal to a non-custodial sentence in May 2022.
Ms Webbe, who was elected as a Labour MP, continues to sit as an independent.
Imran Ahmad Khan, Conservative MP for Wakefield, also avoided expulsion by resigning following his April 2022 conviction for sexually assaulting a teenage boy. He was subsequently jailed for 18 months.
Custodial prison sentences of any length, even if suspended, automatically trigger recall petitions, although sentences of more than a year mean an MP is automatically expelled from the House under separate legislation.
Other MPs have quit while investigations into them were ongoing, including Labour MP for Hartlepool Mike Hill, and Conservative David Warburton. Fellow Tory Neil Parish resigned before an investigation could even be launched into allegations he had been watching pornography in the Commons chamber.