Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen
(Picture: PA Archive)MPs will on Monday vote on suspending Andrew Bridgen from the House of Commons over his “careless and cavalier attitude" to lobbying rules and suggesting the woman investigating him could be bribed with a peerage.
The Tory MP made multiple approaches to ministers and public officials on behalf of Mere Plantations, a UK-based reforestation company with forests in Ghana, for which he was initially paid £12,000 a year as an adviser, a report by the Standards Committee found.
He also attempted to influence Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone during her investigation by claiming he heard a "rumour" she would only receive a peerage if she ruled against him because he was an outspoken critic of then Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The damning report found that Mr Bridgen failed to declare his relevant interests in Mere Plantations during "eight emails to ministers, and in five meetings with public officials”, despite having "received registrable financial benefits" from the company.
Mr Bridgen "breached the rules of the House on registration, declaration and paid lobbying on multiple occasions and in multiple ways" in a "significant litany of errors", the report found.
It added: "Each of these breaches could have led us to recommend a suspension from the service of the House.
"Mr Bridgen has demonstrated a very cavalier attitude to the House’s rules on registration and declaration of interests, including repeatedly saying that he did not check his own entry in the register."
Last month the Independent Expert Panel (IEP) dismissed Mr Bridgen's appeal against his proposed suspension and told the backbencher that he could reasonably have been handed a “more severe” punishment for the breaches.
The MP for North West Leicestershire will be suspended for five days from Tuesday if MPs vote in favour.
The report states he should receive a two day suspension for breaching lobbying rules and a further three days for his "completely unacceptable attack upon the integrity of the Commissioner".
He will not be paid during the week he is not allowed in the Commons.
