Furious Tory MP urges Boris Johnson to 'rebuild trust' amid lobbying row

Furious Dudley North MP Marco Longhi said feelings were "very tense" among the most recent intake of Conservatives in the Commons over the handling of the row, which saw the Government try to override Mr Paterson's suspension for lobbying by ripping up the standards rule book.

Following a U-turn Mr Paterson resigned, and Mr Longhi said ministers now needed to "rebuild trust" with MPs who had been "put in an awful position" by the Government.

Mr Longhi, who won the previously Labour-held seat of Dudley North for the Conservatives in 2019 with a majority of 11,533, described the past few days as "a painful experience".

He said: "I am absolutely fuming with Owen Paterson and I am very clear that it was a mistake to try and fix a broken system at the same time as his case was being considered by the standards committee.

"It gave the impression that we were trying to save one of our own. It was a mistake that has been recognised by the Government, and hopefully a situation we won't be put through again.

"Number 10 should not underestimate the very tense feeling there is over this, especially with new intake MPs who have been extremely loyal to the Government. Trust needs to be rebuilt."

The row was sparked after Tory MPs were whipped into backing an amendment that would have seen Mr Paterson's suspension blocked and reforms to the parliamentary disciplinary process.

Those who rebelled were warned there would be consequences for opposing the Government, although reports claiming threats of constituency funds being withdrawn have not been confirmed.

Mr Longhi said he decided to back the Government's position after a "close judgment call" after urging whips to give MPs a free vote.

"I am a team player and I took one for the team by giving the Government the benefit of the doubt," he said.

"The people who have been really hurt by this are those MPs who have stuck with the Government.

"Those who rebelled were sacked and re-hired the next day, so they've come out of this as knights in shining armour while the people who were loyal have had quite a bit of grief from constituents."

Wolverhampton North East MP Jane Stevenson was one of only two MPs in the region to abstain in the vote. She said: "I think it's important that people can have confidence in the standards system for MPs, which sometimes does seem to deliver inconsistent results.

"However, if any reform is needed that shouldn't be connected to a specific case, as happened last week. I'm pleased the Government changed course on this.

"There are many rules around lobbying and donations, and it's up to us as MPs to always be absolutely clear about any other interests we have - in every relevant meeting and every piece of relevant correspondence."

Dudley South MP Mike Wood said the issue had "clearly been badly handled" and that standards reform should not have been conflated with Mr Paterson's case.

"It has been clear for some time that reform is needed for a system where the same commissioner was effectively instigating investigations and then also prosecuting and sentencing," he said.

"Reforms were overdue but they should have been brought forward much sooner."

Mr Wood added that he had been contacted over the issues by concerned constituents, but that people were more concerned with matters such as GP and hospital access.

Stuart Anderson, MP for Wolverhampton South West, said the Government had admitted that "mistakes had been made" over the the row, which he believed had "hit democracy as a whole".

He said it was "inappropriate" for politicians from all parties to try and "blame the other side" when things went wrong in Parliament as it "eroded faith" in the whole system.

"Hopefully now we can look at an overhaul of the standards procedures to put a proper and fair system in place," he added.

Stourbridge MP Suzanne Webb abstained in the vote as she was ill with Covid. She said the Government "got it wrong" by connecting the need for reform with an individual case.

"I'm pleased that the Government recognises this and I think Owen Paterson made the right decision in resigning," she said.