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Gloucestershire Business News

Forest of Dean MP attacks Prime Minister's leadership style

Forest of Dean MP Mark Harper has slammed the Prime Minister's leadership style in the House of Commons in the row over sleaze.

During a Commons debate, following the Prime Minister's attempt to block the suspension of senior backbencher Owen Paterson who had breached rules on lobbying, Mr Harper said  Boris Johnson should apologise.

The Prime Minister was forced into an embarrassing U-turn after he had initially backed the embattled former cabinet minister.

Boris Johnson wasn't in the Commons to hear Mr Harper's attack. He was on a scheduled visit to Northumbria and did not make it to the debate.

Mark Harper told MPs: "Politics is a team effort. When the captain gets their team into trouble by getting something wrong, they should apologise to them in the House. That's called leadership and it was disappointing we didn't get any of that today."

Conservative MPs were ordered last week to support measures to save Mr Paterson, who had been pulled up over his conduct, and overhaul the standards system, but when this met with opposition there was a dramatic U-turn.

Mr Harper said the matter should have been the subject of a free vote and he had voted against the amendment to 'uphold the standards of the House'.

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