MPs suspended in lobbying row

Three former Cabinet ministers have been suspended by the Labour Party over allegations they were prepared to use their position to influence government policy for cash.

Party sources said that Stephen Byers, Geoff Hoon, and Patricia Hewitt had been suspended pending a full investigation.

The decision was said to have been taken by Chief Whip Nick Brown and General Secretary Ray Collins following the screening of Monday night's Channel 4 Dispatches documentary.

The three were secretly filmed by an undercover reporter discussing the possibility of working for what they thought was an American lobby company.

The move follows angry scenes at the weekly meeting at Westminster of the Parliamentary Labour Party where a number of MPs demanded action against them.

Meanwhile Conservative sources said that Tory MP John Butterfill, who was also featured in the programme, had referred himself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, John Lyon.