Labour critical over Tory MPs' Friday Commons suspension

Labour has criticised the decision to impose a one-day Commons ban on three Conservative MPs on Friday, the quietest day of the parliamentary week.

Natalie Elphicke, Sir Roger Gale and Theresa Villiers will be suspended for trying to influence legal proceedings involving ex-MP Charlie Elphicke.

Labour's Thangam Debbonaire argued the ban should be moved to next Monday.

But the government defended its timing, saying it had followed recommendations from Parliament's standards watchdog.

Ms Elphicke, Sir Roger and Ms Villiers were among five Conservative MPs who sought to interfere in a decision regarding Elphicke, the former MP for Dover, who was convicted last year of sex offences.

They wrote, using House of Commons-provided stationery, to senior members of the judiciary raising concerns that a more junior judge - Mrs Justice Whipple - was considering publishing pre-sentencing character references provided for Elphicke.

The Committee on Standards found the letters had been an "attempt improperly to influence judicial proceedings" and recommended a one-day ban for the MPs involved.

The government proposed the motion setting it for this Friday, when the Commons's only scheduled task is to scrutinise bills put forward by backbench MPs. No government business will be debated on that day.

Ms Debbonaire, shadow leader of the Commons, said: "Friday is a sitting day, yes, but it's not the same as missing an entire day. We all know this...

"It's not a Monday. It's not a day that any of these members are going to lose their right to question ministers or table questions."

Ms Debbonaire also said: "It's a pity that [Friday] is the day the government has chosen to impose this sentence."

She added that there was no precedent for MPs to be suspended on a Friday and that many members were "unlikely to be here anyway".

For the government, deputy chief whip Stuart Andrew said: "It is always regrettable when such a motion is before the House."

He added: "This motion endorses the recommendations of the committee and proposes that [the MPs]... be suspended from the service of the House for one sitting day."

Mr Andrew said it had been a "busy week" following the return from Parliament's summer break and that the government had tried to get the motion through the Commons as quickly as possible, "following exactly" the committee's guidance.

The motion was passed unopposed.

Conservative David Davis said: "The punishment here is not denial of access to the House of Commons. The punishment is reputational."

He raised concerns that the Committee on Standards' recommendation could affect MPs' ability in future to write to judges to raise questions of miscarriages of justice involving their constituents, adding: "I'm worried that this judgement today curtails that."

The committee's chairman, Labour MP Chris Bryant, agreed with Mr Davis that a debate should be held on the issue.

He added: "I don't want MPs restricted in any way in dealing with miscarriages of justice."

Charlie Elphicke was convicted in July last year of sexually assaulting two women. An appeal against his two-year prison sentence was rejected in March this year.