MP confirms she will vote against Owen Paterson's 'witch hunt' suspension
A county MP has revealed she will vote against a move to suspend Owen Paterson for 30 days, describing the investigation into the North Shropshire Conservative as a "witch hunt".
Wednesday will see parliament vote on a motion to suspend Mr Paterson for 30 days – a move that follows a parliamentary standards committee report which found him responsible for an "egregious" breach of lobbying rules.
Mr Paterson has strongly criticised the investigation and its findings, although the committee has defended its conclusions.
There have been suggestions that a number of MPs may vote against the motion – with former Brexit Secretary David Davis having spoken out on the issue.
Now Lucy Allan, Conservative MP for Telford, has confirmed she will vote against Mr Paterson's suspension.
Writing on Twitter Ms Allan said: "Having read the report, I will vote against. Everyone deserves a fair hearing, to know the case against them, for the process to be free from bias and a right to an appeal. I am in parliament to fight injustice."
She had earlier said she would not support a 'witch hunt'.
She said: "Every MP seeks to fight injustice. Yet in this process an MP compounds their alleged guilt by professing innocence. An investigation with no safeguards, no judicial process, no protections against a Kafkaesque nightmare – I can’t support a witch hunt."
Mr Paterson had earlier said he was prepared to go to court to fight the conclusion.
He said: “My arguments and witnesses are not properly represented in the report. My lawyers are astounded by the procedure and said if Parliamentary privilege were surrendered and we had open access to a judge in court, the whole process would be chucked out.”
The committee has rejected criticisms of its investigation, saying it addressed the concerns raised by Mr Paterson.
Speaking when the motion was tabled Shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire said: "If any members have not yet read the report, I'd urge them to keep an open mind and read the report before the motion is debated."
Leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg added: "I'd also encourage members to read the report.
"I think that's always an essential thing to do, it is quite a long report but the weekend is looming and that'd be the opportunity to read it."
Mr Paterson could face a recall petition if the motion to suspend him is passed.
If a recall petition is then signed by more than 10 per cent of the constituency's electorate it would trigger a by-election for the seat.
