Steve Barclay has expressed regret and admitted it was a mistake to try to spare a Tory MP from suspension by ripping up the standards system in a move that sparked a huge backlash from colleagues and the public. The Commons Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, admitted Johnson’s attempt to spare Paterson showed parliament at its worst, and Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi branded Johnson a 'tinpot dictator' who was 'mired in sleaze'. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer said: 'When the prime minister gives the green light to corruption, he corrodes that trust.' Boris Johnson avoided the debate