Government fails to end its Paterson embarrassment

ITV News Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen explains another twist in the Owen Paterson affair that will extend the government's embarrassment for at least another day

More chaos for the government in the Owen Paterson affair.

They tried just now to get the motion confirming the finding against him that he broke lobbying rules passed without debate, and on the nod.

This would have been the least humiliating way out of the mess created last week by the chief whip Mark Spencer and Boris Johnson.

But an MP shouted “object”.

So the absurd position remains that the judgement against Paterson has still not been approved and the new committee to change disciplinary rules for MPs, which the PM wanted but has now…dropped, is still authorised to be created - even though no MP wants it.

Absurd and chaotic!