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Hello and welcome to Coffee House Shots, The Spectator's Daily Politics Podcast.

I'm Cindy U and I'm joined by James Ossithe and Katie Balls.

So today the talk in Westminster is all about the MP Owen Patterson,

who's been investigated for apparently breaching rules in the comments.

Katie, can you start by explaining what's going on with this complicated story?

Yes, so this all goes back to a ruling by the Commissioner for Common Standards,

which ultimately found that Owen Paterson was in breach of lobbying rules. It relates to two companies that he was paid to work with.

They ultimately found that he behaved in a way

when it came to contacting ministers, questions and so forth that ultimately contradicted the rules

that are in place. And therefore, you had a report by the commissioner that was then went to

a committee made up of MPs and they all agreed on a recommendation of 30-day suspension

from the Commons. Now this would have opened up the potential for recall and it has led to a backlash in the Tory party.

I think it's worth pointing out that the committee that signed this off does include Tory MPs.

So this is a cross-party group that signed this off.

And ultimately, one such MP Bernard Jenkins stepped down, he recused himself because he is a close friend of Owen Patterson.

But there were other Tory MPs that remained on the committee.

What we have seen in recent days is a backlash growing, particularly amongst friends of

Owen Patterson, but also I think the fact that Owen Patterson says, A, the investigation was

flawed because his witnesses were never brought forward, but also says that the impact of the

investigation contributed to his wife's suicide has meant that there has been

...