MINISTERS have been accused of trying to “bully” the Standards Commissioner out of her job as anger grew at the Tories for protecting North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson from an immediate suspension.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng faced outrage on Thursday for suggesting Kathryn Stone should resign in the wake of her damning investigation into the former minister.

Boris Johnson’s Government has been accused of “corruption” after he ordered his MPs not to back the cross-party Standards Committee’s call for Mr Paterson to be suspended from Parliament for 30 sitting days.

Instead they voted for a Tory-led panel to consider reforming the disciplinary process after Mr Paterson was found to have repeatedly lobbied ministers and officials for two companies paying him more than £100,000 per year.

Asked whether the independent Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards should resign, Mr Kwarteng told Sky News: “I think it’s difficult to see what the future of the commissioner is, given the fact that we’re reviewing the process, and we’re overturning and trying to reform this whole process, but it’s up to the commissioner to decide her position.”

Pushed on what he meant by “decide her position”, Mr Kwarteng said: “It’s up to her to do that.

"I mean, it’s up to anyone where they’ve made a judgment and people have sought to change that, to consider their position, that’s a natural thing, but I’m not saying she should resign.”

Shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire called for the Prime Minister to “immediately distance himself from these latest attempts to poison British politics”.

“Having already ripped up the rules policing MPs’ behaviour to protect one of their own, it is appalling that this corrupt Government is now trying to bully the standards commissioner out of her job,” the Labour MP added.

Chris Bryant, chairman of the cross-party Commons Standards Committee, had said the Tory move was a “perversion of justice”.

“That is not what we do in this country, it’s what they do in Russia when a friend or a foe is suddenly under the cosh in the courts,” the Labour MP told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Meanwhile, Mr Paterson's former opponents for his North Shropshire seat have all criticised the former Environment and Northern Ireland Minister.

Helen Morgan, from the Liberal Democrats, said: "It is yet another example of the Conservatives riding roughshod over the standards we should be able to expect in public life.

“North Shropshire voters chose Mr Paterson in December 2019 and this scandal is a clear breach of their trust. It’s difficult to see how he can continue to be an effective MP in these circumstances."

Both Graeme Currie (Labour) and Duncan Kerr (Green Party) have also called for Mr Paterson to resign.