Andrew Bridgen, a member of the Conservative Party, is appealing his recommended suspension after a series of lobbying violations revealed he had a “very casual” attitude towards the laws.
Despite having previously accepted the conclusions, the backbencher referred the Commons Standards Committee’s devastating decision to the Parliament’s Independent Expert Panel.
Earlier this month, when the cross-party committee recommended the punishment, the North West Leicestershire representative said he was “very upset” with the findings but added, “I accept them and will comply with them as required.”
Andrew Bridgen, a Conservative member of parliament, is appealing his recommended suspension after he was deemed to have exhibited a’very casual’ attitude toward the laws in a series of lobbying violations.
However, a letter from panel head Stephen Irwin to Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle confirmed the appeal after he extended the deadline for filing an appeal by one week.
The committee suggested a five-day penalty for offenses including a “inappropriate attack on the integrity” of standards commissioner Kathryn Stone.
He was found to have violated the MPs’ code of conduct “on several occasions and in multiple ways” regarding registration, declaration, and paid lobbying.
Mr. Bridgen should have disclosed his affiliation with the Cheshire-based company Mere Plantations to ministers and authorities when he made several representations.
He received a contribution, a sponsored trip to their teak plantation in Ghana, and a £12,000-per-year consulting contract.
»Tory Andrew Bridgen appeals his lobbying suspension«