Search: Stephen Byers lobbying
Gordon Brown has dismissed opposition calls for a Government investigation into claims that policy decisions were swayed by lobbying from former Cabinet ministers.
The Prime Minister accepted assurances from the permanent secretaries of three Whitehall departments that there had been "no improper influence" on ministerial decisions.
But Conservatives denounced the decision as "outrageous", and Tory chairman Eric Pickles said there increasingly appeared to be "a cover-up at the heart of Government".
Channel 4's Dispatches broadcasted footage of a "sting" operation in which a number of MPs, including former ministers Stephen Byers, Patricia Hewitt and Geoff Hoon, were secretly filmed in discussion with an undercover reporter posing as the representative of a fictitious US lobbying firm.
Mr Byers, describing himself as a "cab for hire", apparently requested £5,000 a day and boasted he had previously secured secret deals with ministers over a rail franchise contract and food labelling on behalf of private companies.
Ms Hewitt and Mr Hoon were filmed suggesting they would charge £3,000 a day for their services. Both have since denied any wrongdoing and insisted they had not breached parliamentary rules.
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Mr Byers, who has held major Cabinet portfolios including trade and transport, later retracted his claims and referred himself to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner John Lyon for an inquiry into his conduct.
The North Tyneside MP, who is standing down at the general election, said he was "confident" Mr Lyon would clear him of breaching the Westminster code of conduct.
His claim to have lobbied successfully for National Express over their east coast mainline rail franchise was today dismissed as "pure fantasy" by Transport Secretary Lord Adonis.
Lord Adonis told the House of Lords he had a "brief conversation" with Mr Byers last year about the company's threat to default on its franchise, but said there was "no truth whatsoever" in suggestions that he changed his policy as a result.
