A former British minister resigned from his role as an elected representative on Thursday amid intense political turmoil over whether or not to suspend him. Owen Paterson, an MP of 24 years, said he decided to “remain a public servant but outside the cruel world of politics.” The Conservative MP was found by the cross-party Standards Committee to have repeatedly lobbied ministers and officials for two companies paying him more than £100,000 per year—conduct deemed an “egregious” breach of the rules on paid advocacy. However, he has denied the findings against him, saying the investigation process was unfair, and that 17 witnesses who came forward to support him were ignored. The Conservative government has been accused of “corruption” and “wallowing in sleaze” after it whipped through a vote on Wednesday to block an immediate 30-day suspension of Paterson and to shake up the disciplinary process at the same time. On Thursday, it abandoned the plan to set …