Anne-Marie Trevelyan has suggested North East voters aren't interested in Tory sleaze and are more concerned about "local issues".
The Cabinet minister said there was no "wider problem" with corruption in politics as MPs were set to take part in an emergency debate on the Government’s failed attempt to rip up the parliamentary rule book to save one of their backbenchers from being suspended.
In an unprecedented move, Tory MPs last week chose to ignore the recommendations of a standards committee report which found ex-Environment Secretary Owen Paterson had repeatedly used his position as an MP to promote two companies that paid him a combined £112,000 a year.
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After a massive public backlash, the Government U-turned on the plan and Mr Paterson announced he was quitting as MP for North Shropshire.
But Ms Trevelyan dismissed suggestions that voters were angrily writing to MPs about this issue.
She said: “My postbag mostly reflects people who are frustrated by local issues, questions of accessing vaccines, anxieties about those sorts of issues, and indeed, local questions about how they can make progress with housing in my patch.
"I’ve had a few emails with concerns about the way the debate went last week. I wasn’t there, so I wasn’t able to comment directly.”
She added: "I don’t consider that there’s a need for an inquiry. Why? Because I don’t think there is a wider problem here.”
Ms Trevelyan also defended Boris Johnson's decision not to attend this afternoon's debate.
She said: “My opinion would be that no, he shouldn’t be there, he will no doubt – as we all do – have the House of Commons on in his office as he’s dealing with many, many other issues that only a Prime Minister that can deal with.
“He will get a briefing of the key issues raised by colleagues from across the House later on, I believe that the Leader and other ministers will be well placed to take the despatch box this afternoon.”
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