Owen Paterson will fight to 'clear his name' after unprecedented vote

The North Shropshire Conservative had faced a 30-day suspension from Parliament after a standards committee concluded he was responsible for an "egregious" breach of lobbying rules while acting for two companies.

But most Conservative MPs, with the support of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, rejected a motion to suspend him and instead approved an amendment, which will lead to a review of his case – and the creation of a new disciplinary body for MPs. The amendment passed by 250 votes to 232.

Mr Paterson, who had strongly rejected the committee's findings, thanked the Prime Minister and his party colleagues for their support, and said he now looks forward to "a chance to clear my name".

It comes after Mr Paterson and a number of MPs raised concerns about the process by which he was investigated – although this was roundly rejected by the committee's chair Chris Bryant MP during the parliamentary debate.

The North Shropshire MP had also said the manner in which the investigation had been carried out had played a "major role" in his wife Rose's suicide last year.

The result of a dramatic vote was met with cries of 'shame' from the opposition benches.

Speaking after the vote Mr Paterson said: "I am very grateful to the Prime Minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Andrea Leadsom, and all those colleagues who voted because I now have a chance to clear my name."

He added: "There is now a chance for them to create a new system on the rules of natural justice – the rules of ACAS where you sit down, decide what the problem is, exchange points of view, go away and get witnesses, then they can come back and be interrogated.

"I had a lot of senior witnesses who all came out and said my narrative was right – that I raised issues of real consequence to public health."

The vote means Mr Paterson's case will be reviewed before a verdict, and potential sanction, is delivered.

It also means there will be no recall petition, or potential by-election, as could have been triggered by his suspension.

Mr Paterson had received the support of his fellow Conservative, Philip Dunne, MP for Ludlow, who said: "The process by which complaints against MPs in relation to their work, can be investigated without right to representation nor ability for witnesses to be questioned, nor right of appeal, uniquely compared with any other form of employment in the UK has to be reviewed."

Mr Paterson faced a raft of criticism during a 90-minute debate, with Mr Bryant suggesting that his name would become a "by-word for bad behaviour".

But the MP said he had no second thoughts over the actions which the committee concluded had breached lobbying rules – and said he would do it again if presented with the same information.

He said all three instances – two of which concerned potential carcinogens in milk and ham – were a result of his desire to prevent serious harm to the public.

He said: "I would do that again tomorrow. These are all exceptions where serious harm is concerned. There was no money gained from raising them and I would do it again."

Mr Paterson also spoke out about the impact of the debate and the report on his reputation.

He said: "I have been in Parliament for 25 years and as you know a lot of people do not like my views but they believe I am straight and to sit there and have those things said about me was incredibly hurtful and it is because of this report, it was a travesty.

"It was a terrible day for me."

He added: "I hope that I am the last MP that ever goes through this process. We have a chance to build a new system that comforms to natural justice."