High-profile figure on party’s right accused of causing ‘significant damage’ to reputation of parliament

The Conservative MP Miriam Cates, a high-profile figure on the party’s right wing, is being investigated by the parliamentary standards watchdog.

Cates, the MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge in South Yorkshire since 2019, is being investigated for “actions causing significant damage to the reputation of the house as a whole, or of its members generally”, a brief notice on the website of the commissioner for standards said.

The inquiry falls under paragraph 17 of the updated 2019 code of conduct for MPs, which says: “Members shall never undertake any action which would cause significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons as a whole, or of its members generally.”