WATCH: Labour slams Tory bid to scrap independent process of MP scrutiny

Thangam Debbonaire, Labour’s shadow House of Commons leader, has described as “absolutely outrageous” the Tory bid to overhaul the system designed to scrutinise MPs in a 90-minute debate in parliament today.

The Labour frontbencher told the BBC: “We should want to be held to very high account and scrutiny. That’s the right thing to do. The public needs to know that we’re not accepting money to lobby on behalf of a firm.

“There were any number of options that this Member had, that Owen Paterson had, if he wanted to raise a question of serious harm. He could have returned the money, he could have asked a colleague, there were a number of other options available to him.

“It’s quite extraordinary that this afternoon, in a 90-minute debate which ought to be a formal approval of the committee on standards report and recommendations, that we’re going to end up having a debate about the very system itself which is designed to scrutinise MPs. It’s absolutely outrageous.”

Tory MPs are on a three-line whip today to support the amendment by Andrea Leadsom that calls for an overhaul of the disciplinary process and a review of Owen Paterson’s case, as Conservatives try to block his suspension.