FORMER Cabinet minister Owen Paterson is facing the prospect of a 30-day suspension from Parliament after he was found to have breached Commons rules on lobbying.

An investigation by Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone found today that the Tory MP for North Shropshire repeatedly lobbied ministers and officials on behalf of two companies, Randox and Lynn’s Country Foods, for whom he was acting as a paid consultant. 

The Commons Standards Committee said his actions were an egregious breach of the rules on paid advocacy by MPs and recommended that he should be suspended for 30 sitting days.

Mr Paterson rejected the commissioner’s findings, accusing Stone of having reached the decision before even speaking to him.

He said the way the investigation was carried out had “undoubtedly” played a “major role” in his wife Rose’s decision to take her own life last year.

The report found that between November 2016 and November 2017, Mr Paterson made three approaches to the Food Standards Agency relating to Randox — a clinical diagnostics company — and antibiotics in milk, in breach of the ban on paid advocacy.

He was also found to have made four approaches to ministers at the Department for International Development relating to the company and blood testing technology between October 2016 and January 2017.

Mr Paterson was also found to have made seven approaches to the authority between November 2017 and July 2018 relating to Lynn’s Country Foods.

The commissioner further found that he failed to declare his interest as a paid consultant to Lynn’s Country Foods in four emails to authority officials and that he used his parliamentary office for business meetings with his clients on 16 occasions between October 2016 and February 2020.

He also sent two letters relating to his business interests on House of Commons-headed notepaper — the only rule breach he accepted.

In its report, the committee recommended that a motion to suspend Mr Paterson should be tabled for MPs to debate and vote on within five sitting days.

If the Commons backs the committee’s recommendations it could lead to recall proceedings, resulting in a by-election if 10 per cent of his constituents sign a petition demanding one.

Mr Paterson said he had been trying to raise concerns about the contamination of milk and ham with banned carcinogenic substances.