‘They should be ashamed’: Ian Hislop’s must-watch Paterson monologue

Ian Hislop has accused Tory MPs of seeking to undermine “democracy, transparency and accountability” in a must-watch monologue on Have I Got News For You.

The fallout from the Owen Paterson scandal has left Boris Johnson counting the cost of a humiliating government U-turn.

The Prime Minister now faces the prospect of a by-election in North Shropshire which will be dominated by allegations of sleaze following Paterson’s resignation.

In a cutting minute-long explainer of the affair, Private Eye editor Hislop said Tory MPs who voted through changes to parliamentary sleaze laws were “absolutely disgraceful”, saying they “should be ashamed of themselves”.

And he suggested the “really quite shocking” scandal came about because of the parliamentary standards commissioner’s pending investigation into Johnson’s controversial holiday to Mustique at the start of 2020.

Watch the full speech here.

Henry Goodwin

Henry is a reporter with a keen interest in politics and current affairs. He read History at the University of Cambridge and has a Masters in Newspaper Journalism from City, University of London. Follow him on Twitter: @HenGoodwin.