UK government admits it was wrong over lawmaker lobbying

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — A chastened British government has admitted that it was wrong to try to block a lawmaker’s suspension for breaching ethics rules. Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg said Tuesday it was “a mistake” to try to force an overhaul of Parliament’s standards process rather than suspend fellow Conservative legislator Owen Paterson for breaking lobbying rules. Both ruling party and opposition legislators say the episode has tarnished the country’s political system. The Paterson case also has fueled allegations Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative government don’t follow rules that apply to everyone else. Johnson said Tuesday that lawmakers should be banned from acting as “paid political consultants or lobbyists.”