A former cabinet minister is facing questions over his conduct after documents revealed he helped lobby for two firms he was paid to advise. Owen Paterson, a former Conservative environment secretary and prominent Brexit supporter, took part in lobbying campaigns for the firms to promote their products. MPs are permitted to have consultancies under the parliamentary rules and are required to declare them in the parliamentary register of financial interests. Paterson also lobbied the FSA on behalf of Randox, which has paid him since 2015. Four days later, Paterson wrote to Stewart promoting Randox’s “reliable blood tests”, which, he said, “would appear to be an excellent use of UK aid resources”.

Source: The Guardian September 30, 2019 09:53 UTC