THE PM was yesterday accused of making it a "dark day for democracy" after tearing up anti-sleaze rules to protect a Tory MP.
Ex-Cabinet minister Owen Paterson was set to be kicked out of Parliament for 30 days after misusing his position.
Boris Johnson was accused of making it a 'dark day for democracy' after tearing up anti-sleaze rules to protect a Tory MP Owen Paterson
But he was saved after Boris Johnson ordered MPs to vote to rip up the rules.
A Tory-dominated panel will now be created to oversee a new appeals process.
Labour's Sir Keir Starmer accused the Tories of "outright corruption" and said his party will have nothing to do with "this complete and utter sham process".
And Labour said the PM has plunged the Tories back into the dark days of cash-for-questions.
A spokesman for Angela Rayner called the amendment a "grubby stitch-up".
Fifty-one Tories defied No10 to vote against.
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But it passed by 250 votes to 232 to shouts of "shame" from Labour.
Tory MP Simon Hoare branded it "unedifying and somewhat embarrassing".
His colleague Aaron Bell warned: "It looks like we are moving the goalposts."
Father of the House Sir Peter Bottomley said: "We chose the system. If we want to consider changing it, we do it in a proper way instead of considering it in the way we are now."
Chris Bryant, chairman of the Committee on Standards which oversaw the case, told The Sun afterwards: "This is a terribly dark day for democracy.
"The rule of law means we don't change the rules to protect a friend or attack a foe. That is what Russia does — not Britain."
North Shropshire MP Mr Paterson was found to have used his job to lobby ministers and officials for two companies that paid him £112,000 as a consultant.
He said the investigation "did not comply with natural justice" as he was not given a chance to call witnesses.
Ex-Cabinet minister Owen Paterson was saved after the PM ordered MPs to vote to rip up the rules
BRITAIN'S fast fashion addiction is destroying the planet, Stella McCartney told Prince Charles and Leonardo Di Caprio last night – as she showed off her new range of mushroom leather bags and vegan football boots.
The designer ramped up demands for high end fashionistas to go green like her – as she showcased her eco-designs in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery on the sidelines of the COP summit.
APFast fashion is destroying the planet, Stella McCartney warned Prince Charles[/caption]
She said the Titanic and Wolf of Wall Street star was "gobsmacked" that more designers were not "joining forces" with her push for sustainability and ditching leather and fur for eco-friendly materials.
She added: "He's just like 'I can't believe you're the only person in fashion doing this'." And the designer said Prince Charles found her exhibition "enlightening and inspiring".
Ms McCartney said she wanted to "call out" polluting industries including her own and work to "provide a better way of doing things".
It came as a clothes expert ordered Brits not to buy 'distressed' jeans with holes in – as they won't last and will end up in landfill.
Kate Fletcher, a research professor at London College of Fashion, who is off to COP26 to talk about reusing clothes said: "The biggest challenge is of overproduction and overconsumption of clothes.
"Low carbon choices all come from wearing the things we have already got again and again, and finding a way to make the most radical item in your wardrobe something you already own." And Brits should be committing to buying clothes that last decades, not months, or buying more second hand, she added.
It came as Rishi Sunak brandished his 'green box' as he rallied finance chiefs to cough up billions more to go green.
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One worried aide texted the team with just minutes to spare before his speech, saying: "If people are free, please come ASAP to fill up the event."
EX Cabinet Minister Owen Paterson WON'T be suspended from the Commons after Tory MPs tonight voted down his sleaze ban.
A furious row erupted in Parliament after Boris Johnson tore up the rulebook to save his Conservative colleague from a month's suspension.
Owen Paterson won't be suspended from the Commons
The Prime Minister wielded his big majority to protect the former Environment Secretary from a 30-day Commons ban handed down by the standards watchdog.
There were shouts from the Labour side of "shame" and "what have you done to this place" as the motion narrowly passed by 250 to 232.
After the vote Mr Paterson said: "After two years of hell, I now have the opportunity to clear my name."
Mr Paterson was found to have breached rules by using his job as an MP to lobby ministers and officials for two companies that paid him £112,000 as a consultant.
The cross-party standards committee of MPs recommended he be suspended from the Commons for the "egregious case of paid advocacy."
North Shropshire MP Mr Paterson strongly rejected the ruling – blaming the "torturous" two-year probe for his wife Rose's suicide – and has fumed that he wasn't allowed to appeal.
Tonight Tory MPs carried out a dramatic plot to launch a wider shake up of the standards system that would let Mr Paterson off the hook for now.
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They voted for an amendment led by ex Cabinet Minister Andrea Leadsom to "express concern about potential defects in the standards system and therefore declines to consider the report at this time".
It would also create a separate select committee of MPs – with a Tory majority – to consider the entire way sleaze probes work.
Ms Leadsom admonished the current system for letting an unelected commissioner rule on elected MPs and compared it to a "dictatorship".
But deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner accused the Government of concocting a "grubby little stitch up" to save Mr Paterson's career.
Chris Bryant, chair of the standards committee which recommended the ban, said the vote would "drive a coach and horses through our standards system".
He said: "There have been times when I have been ashamed of being a member of this House. I don't want to go back to that."
Labour and the SNP have vowed to boycott the new select committee.
Mr Johnson insisted paid lobbying in the Commons "is wrong" and that MPs "who are found guilty of that should apologise and pay the necessary penalties".
"But that is not the issue in this case or this vote that is before us."
This will drive a coach and horses through our standards system
Chris Bryant MP
Several Tory MPs broke ranks and refused to vote with the PM to spare Mr Paterson.
Tory MP Aaron Bell said: "By bringing the amendment today, it looks like we are moving the goalposts."
Conservative Simone Hoare raged: "I'm sure many of us in this house, on both sides, find these whole procedures unedifying and somewhat embarrassing."
Longest-serving MP Sir Peter Bottomley said: "We chose the system we are now using. If we want to consider changing it, we do it in a proper way instead of considering it in the way we are now."
Some 25,000 people have already signed a petition condemning the government.
In a statement Mr Paterson said: "I am extremely grateful to the PM, the Leader of the House and my colleagues for ensuring that fundamental changes will be made to internal Parliamentary systems of justice.
"I hope that no other MP will ever again be subject to this shockingly inadequate process."
Case against
The row started after an investigation by Commons chief sleaze-buster Kathryn Stone found that Mr Paterson breached rules by lobbying for two firms that paid him £112,000.
Ms Stone says he contacted government ministers and officials on behalf of lab firm Randox and meat supplier Lynn's Country Foods in a way that could have benefitted them.
The probe found he also inappropriately used his office in Parliament and Commons-headed notepaper for business affairs
A cross-party standards committee of MPs endorsed Ms Stone's decision and recommended Mr Paterson be suspended for 30 days.
Case for the defence
Mr Paterson denies almost all wrongdoing and has tore into Ms Stone and the investigation into him.
He claims he used the meetings to raise issues of public health such as contaminated milk – which he says he discovered through his work with the companies but was not seeking to make them money.
The MP has directly attacked Ms Stone for only speaking with him after she had made up her mind and for refusing to call 17 of his witnesses who he says would exonerate him.
Mr Paterson said the two-year probe was so distressing it helped drive his wife Rose to suicide in the summer of last year.
LABOUR was today forced to admit thousands of members' personal details have been affected by a "significant" cyber breach.
Security experts are investigating after an IT firm which handles data on the party's behalf was compromised.
AFPLabour has suffered a significant data breach[/caption]
The full scale of the incident is being investigated but Labour's own data systems were unaffected.
Bigwigs urged all members and supporters to be "especially vigilant" against fraud attempts over the next few days.
It's not the first time the party has been hit by a cyber attack, and the incident will prove embarrassing for its leader.
A Labour spokesman said they were informed of the breach on October 29 by the IT firm, which has not been named.
He added: "The third party told us that the incident had resulted in a significant quantity of party data being rendered inaccessible on their systems.
"As soon as the party was notified of these matters, we engaged third-party experts and the incident was immediately reported to the relevant authorities."
"We understand that the data includes information provided to the party by its members, registered and affiliated supporters, and other individuals who have provided their information to the party."
'Urgent' probe
Labour is "working closely and on an urgent basis" with the IT firm in order to understand the full nature, circumstances and impact of the incident.
Labour urged members and supporters who may have been affected to take extra precautions online, in line with NCSC guidance.
A NCSC spokesman said: "We are aware of this issue and are working with the Labour Party to fully investigate and mitigate any potential impact.
"We would urge anyone who thinks they may have been the victim of a data breach to be especially vigilant against suspicious emails, phone calls or text messages and to follow the steps set out in our data breaches guidance.
"The NCSC is committed to helping organisations manage their cyber security and publishes advice and guidance on the NCSC website."
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It is not the first time Labour has suffered a potential data breach at the hands of cyber criminals.
In 2020 personal data including names, email addresses, phone numbers and details of annual donations were stolen from a supplier.
The company, called Blackbaud, blamed a "sophisticated ransomware attack" and ended up paying to get the information destroyed.
A PLAYER at one of England's top cricket club's could be named as a racist in Parliament as an astonishing row drove sponsors to abandon ship.
Ministers have demanded "heads roll" at Yorkshire County Cricket Club for passing off racism towards former bowler Azeem Rafiq as just "banter".
Azeem Rafiq faced racism at Yorkshire Cricket ClubRexSajid Javid demanded "heads roll" at the club[/caption]
Karachi-born Rafiq was called a "P***", asked if his dad owned a corner shop and "is that your uncle?" when they saw Asian men during his spell at the club.
A report by Yorkshire CCC ruled he was the victim of racism – but found the comments were made "in the spirit of friendly banter".
The ex-teammate who made the offensive remarks has so far remained anonymous but could now be named using parliamentary privilege.
MPs hope to call Rafiq to give evidence "imminently" which would allow him to name the teammate without fear of slander.
Rafiq said last night: "No one believed me, no one listened, everyone tried to protect themselves and left me all alone to fight. Time for the full truth."
Tory chair of the Commons sport committee Julian Knight has already summoned Yorkshire CCC boss Roger Hutton to explain himself.
Sponsors this morning began abandoning the club, with butter firm Arla foods saying they wouldn't renew their contract.
Tetley's Tea is also considering its association with the club.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid whose parents are Pakistani immigrants last night stormed raged that "heads should roll".
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In a blistering tweet he said: "P*** is not banter. Heads should roll at Yorkshire CCC. If the England Cricket Board doesn't take action it's not fit for purpose."
The ECB has hired a top lawyer to investigate and apologised to Karachi-born Rafiq.
Sports Secretary Nadine Dorries piled in and stormed that the racism Rafiq faced was "disgusting".
She fumed: "Racism must be confronted, and NEVER written off as just "banter".
Downing Street also waded into the race row last night. Boris Johnson's official spokesman said: "The Prime Minister's absolutely clear that racist language like that should never be used in any context whatsoever."
RACE ROW
Rafiq, 30, played for the White Roses between 2008 and 2018 and made allegations of institutional racism more than a year ago.
An independent probe by the club admitted he had been a victim of "racial harassment and bullying" and issued a "full apology".
But Yorkshire CCC said none of its employees would face sanctions and refused to publish a copy of the report.
The "banter" findings only emerged in a report from sports site ESPNcricinfo this week.
The ECB, which only recently received the report, said last night: "We are conscious about the length of time that Azeem has waited for resolution and the toll that must be taking on his wellbeing and that of his family. We are sorry that, as a sport, this has not yet been resolved.
"We will conduct a full regulatory process that is fair to all parties, but also ensure this happens as quickly as possible.
To achieve this, we have secured the services of a QC, along with other external investigatory support to upweight resource around our process."
Yorkshire County Cricket Club said in a statement: "We acknowledge that we must work hard to restore trust from those who feel let down.
"We are committed to incorporating the panel's recommendations into our diversity and inclusion action plans."
