HUMBLED BORIS IN MASSIVE SLEAZE U-TURN

COMMONS REFORMS AXED AFTER OUTCRY. PATERSON FACES SUSPENSION AFTER ALL. Screeching U-turn by Boris just 24 hours after MPs vote to rip up rules

- David Bond and Nicholas Cecil

BORIS JOHNSON today ditched plans announced just yesterday to reform Parliament’s disciplinary system after a furious backlash in the Owen Paterson sleaze storm.

In a dramatic U-turn, the Prime Minister also backed the principle that any reforms could not apply retrospectively to individual cases. The move means former Cabinet minister Mr Paterson faces suspension from the Commons for 30 days.

He was found by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, to have repeatedly lobbied ministers and officials on behalf of two companies — medical firm Randox and meat processor Lynn’s Country Foods — which paid him more than £100,000 a year. Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg announced the U-turn in the Commons this morning after only 250 MPs backed the Government’s proposals to set up a new committee, chaired by a Tory MP, to draw up plans for a new appeals system. Opposition MPs vowed to boycott the committee and following a wave of criticism, Mr Rees-Mogg announced the U-turn, saying any reforms would need cross-party support.