European Court Dismisses Owen Paterson's Privacy Claim Over Lobbying Probe

The former Tory MP's appeal against the investigation that led to his political downfall was unanimously rejected by the court.

Owen Paterson, a former Tory cabinet minister, resigned in 2021 after being found guilty of breaching lobbying rules.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Paterson's claim of a privacy breach was 'manifestly ill-founded.'
Paterson argued that the investigation was unfair and contributed to significant personal and financial losses.
The court emphasized the legitimate public interest in the outcome of the parliamentary investigation.
The ruling also noted that the allegations against Paterson were already public before the investigation began.