British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has come under pressure to take responsibility for the government’s botched attempt to protect a ruling party lawmaker by changing rules designed to prevent corruption in parliament. The Johnson government has been accused of “corruption” and “wallowing in sleaze” after it whipped through a vote last Wednesday to block a 30-day suspension of Conservative MP Owen Paterson—who was found by the cross-party Standards Committee to have repeatedly lobbied ministers and officials for two companies paying him more than £100,000 ($134,600) per year—by shaking up the disciplinary process. The government was forced to abandon the plan just a day later after opposition parties refused to participate in the proposed new Tory-led committee to review Paterson’s case and the current standards system. During a three-hour emergency debate in the House of Commons on Monday, cabinet minister Steve Barclay and he and his ministerial colleagues said they “regret” …
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