Owen Paterson vote ‘very serious and damaging moment’ for politics, says watchdog chief

Boris Johnson’s move to overhaul MPs’ disciplinary processes and block Conservative MP Owen Paterson’s suspension has been condemned as a “very serious and damaging moment” for parliament and public standards in Britain.

Lords Evans, chair of the committee on standards in public life, an independent body which advises the prime minister, hit out at the proposal to create a Tory-dominated committee to investigate sleaze.

It comes after the government secured an 18-vote majority to prevent Mr Paterson’s 30-day suspension — for breaching parliament’s code of conduct — and create a new body to dictate changes to the way standards allegations are investigated.