Downing Street today refused to rule out the prospect of Boris Johnson handing a peerage to shamed Tory Owen Paterson.
The MP resigned from Parliament before he could be suspended for 30 days for multiple breaches of lobbying rules.
Mr Paterson, who quit when a “corrupt” No10 bid to save him by rewriting the rules collapsed, approached officials on behalf of two firms paying him a combined £112,000 a year.
He has claimed his behaviour did not breach lobbying rules because it rose matters of public concern.
Today a No10 spokesman repeatedly refused to rule out the prospect that the MP of 24 years could be offered a seat in the House of Lords.
The spokesman said: “There’s a formal process for peerages, and I’m not in a position to comment on speculation.”
No10 sources did, however, insist it was untrue that Boris Johnson and Owen Paterson discussed a peerage in their phone call on Thursday.
It comes after the PM ordered Tory MPs to rip up ethics rules and block a 30-day suspension of Owen Paterson for lobbying breaches.
The vote passed, but more than 100 Conservatives refused to back the plans and Keir Starmer accused the government of corruption.
He U-turned less than 24 hours later, as Labour boycotted the body which would have drawn up new standards.
Mr Paterson later resigned as a Tory MP, paying tribute to his wife Rose who tragically took her own life last year.
A No10 spokesman refused to deny claims that some Tory MPs were threatened with less government funding in their seats if they refused to back the rules shake-up.
He said: “You’ll appreciate that questions around whipping aren’t ones for me.
“More broadly I’d say there’s a lot of speculation and reporting around today which I’m just not going to get into.
“But you are aware we support the principle of a right of appeal.”
No10 also refused to condemn MPs, including the Business Secretary, who have put pressure on independent Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone to quit.
The spokesman said: “That’s entirely a matter for the Commissioner..
“Obviously we wouldn’t want to see that happening.
“Our focus is on the appeals process and making sure we have a process in place that is similar to other walks of life.”
Boris Johnson fuelled speculation of a peerage yesterday when he gave a gushing tribute to his “friend and colleague for decades”.
The PM said: “He has had a distinguished career, serving in two cabinet positions, and above all he has been a voice for freedom - for free markets and free trade and free societies - and he was an early and powerful champion of Brexit.
“I know that this must have been a very difficult decision but I can understand why - after the tragic circumstances in which he lost his beloved wife Rose - he has decided to put his family first.”
Today Mr Paterson announced he would be "stepping aside" from his consultancy work following his resignation from the Commons.
A by-election will be held in safe Tory seat North Shropshire. Despite claims there could be a cross-party anti-sleaze candidate, Labour has ruled the move out. A source told the Mirror: "It's not going to happen".
A Lib Dem official confirmed they will not support a cross-party ‘anti-sleaze’ candidate in North Shropshire either.
The official said rules on funding and sharing resources stricter than when Martin Bell stood in 1997, so while it was considered for a “nanosecond” it “hit the rocks”.
