Morecambe MP David Morris apologies to Commons for breaching paid advocacy rules
A Tory MP has apologised to the Commons after he breached parliamentary rules on paid advocacy.
David Morris last year asked a question and sent a follow-up email to the Business Secretary relating to a firm which had given him a £10,000 donation the previous month.
An inquiry by the Committee on Standards ruled that Mr Morris had inadvertently breached the Code of Conduct for MPs on two occasions and recommended that Mr Morris apologise to the Commons by means of a personal statement.
The report by the parliamentary commissioner for standards, Kathryn Stone, also criticised the Morecambe and Lunesdale MP's conduct during the inquiry.
Delivering a personal statement in the Commons, the Morecambe and Lunesdale MP said:
"I'm very sorry for these breaches.
"I did not intend to and now I understand the rules and how they should be adhered to.
"Mistakenly I thought that by drawing attention to my register entry when asking a topical question about EU regulation that could affect Aquind I was complying with the rules.
"I was mortified to realise my topical question and my follow-up email were not allowed under the paid advocacy rules. I realise that any breach of the paid advocacy rule is a very serious matter indeed.
MPs are prohibited from lobbying for financial or material benefit for a person or organisation from whom they have received a donation in the previous six months.
The report said Mr Morris made a "brief declaration of a relevant interest" in his email to the Business Secretary but it "did not meet the requirements of the rules".
Mr Morris asked a topical question on October 22 2019 in which he asked Ofgem to make regulations to "protect" companies such as Aquind through a regulatory regime.
He had accepted a £10,000 donation from the energy firm the previous month.
The next day, Mr Morris emailed the Business Secretary with additional questions.
The commissioner found this also breached the paid advocacy rule.