Britain could "slip into becoming a corrupt country", the government's ethics chief has said in an extraordinary intervention in the Owen Paterson sleaze row.
Lord Evans, chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life and former MI5 chief, said government-backed proposals to overhaul MPs' disciplinary system were “deeply at odds with the best traditions of British democracy”.
It came as Tory MPs faced cries of "shame" on Wednesday evening after voting through plans to rip up ethics rules and let Mr Paterson, who the independent Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone found made several "egregious" breaches of lobbying rules, off the hook.
But on Thursday morning, Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg confirmed a U-turn and said the senior Tory MP, who faced a lengthy suspension from parliament that may expose him to a recall petition, would not have his case reviewed as part of a new process.
Mr Paterson was found to have "repeatedly" lobbied ministers and officials on behalf of two companies - Randox and Lynn’s - who paid the MP £100,000 for his work.
Tory MP Andrea Leadsom had proposed a new committee, which would be made up of a majority of Conservative MPs, which would hear appeals.
Lord Evans told an event organised by the think tank Institute for Government that the vote was "a very serious and damaging moment for Parliament and for public standards in this country”.
He said: "We could slip into being a corrupt country.
"That's why we need to be vigilant around these issues. And it's quite possible we could slip in terms of international perceptions of us."
He said it "cannot be right" to propose that the standards system in the House of Commons be reviewed by a select committee dominated by the ruling party.
He added: “It cannot be right to propose an overhaul of the entire regulatory system in order to postpone or prevent sanctions in a very serious case of paid lobbying by an MP.
“This extraordinary proposal is deeply at odds with the best traditions of British democracy.
“The political system in this country does not belong to one party, or even to one government., it is a common good that we have all inherited from our forebears and that we all have a responsibility to preserve and to improve.”
Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg confirmed a U-turn to MPs on Thursday. He said new proposals would be brought forward.
It is expected MPs will now vote on the Standards Commissioner's recommendation to suspend Mr Paterson.
The ethics chief, who oversees investigations in relation to the ministerial code - though Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains the "ultimate arbiter" - said it was time for parliamentary conduct to be re-assessed.
He said "the focus on ethical standards tends to go in cycles”.
He said: “A scandal erupts, public concern increases, regulatory arrangements are then reviewed, and officeholders reassess their conduct.
“After a period of time, complacency sets in and the cycle repeats.
“Events of yesterday confirm our view that we are at the point of the cycle where it’s time to look again and to reassess.
“It’s time to re-establish our commitment to credible, independent regulation of the ethical standards of public office holders.”
