North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson resigns amid suspension row

Parliament's independent investigator found he'd broken lobbying rules

Owen Paterson
Author: Alex MeakinPublished 4th Nov 2021
Last updated 4th Nov 2021

Owen Paterson has announced he will resign as the MP for North Shropshire at the request of his children and to escape "the cruel world of politics. "

A suspension of 30 days had been recommended for Mr Paterson, who has been an MP for 24 years, following an investigation into his private sector work.

The investigation found an "egregious breach" of standards rules as he lobbied minister and officials for two companies paying him more than ÂŁ100,000 a year.

On Wednesday Conservative MPs passed a motion in favour of ignoring Mr Paterson's suspension.

Following a back-lash online and in the morning papers the government U-turned on the row today, promising a new vote on the suspension, prior to Mr Paterson's resignation.

Mr Paterson has continually declared that he is not guilty and criticised the investigation.

The resignation will trigger a by-election in North Shropshire, a seat claimed with almost a 23,000 vote majority in the 2019 election.

If your favourite music icons are the Spice Girls and your favourite Ks are Kylie and the Kardashians, you need heat Radio in your life! heat Radio is portable, so you can listen to us on the move. Simply download our app from your phone’s app store, listen online at heatradio.com and at heatworld.com. We’re on all the smart speakers too, just say “play heat Radio".