Backbench Tory MP Tim Yeo has admitted it is a relief to have been cleared by Parliament’s sleaze watchdog over newspaper allegations he offered help to a fake solar power company.

Back in June, he stepped down temporarily from his post as chair of the climate change committee after a secretly recorded conversation with two journalists in a sting operation appeared to show him saying he would approach ministers on behalf of their fake firm.

It is against the rules for MPs to lobby on behalf of businesses for money.

Today however the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards cleared him of all charges.

In an official statement, Mr Yeo said: “After a full investigation, the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner accepted, as I have always maintained, that I did not break the rules of the House.

“This investigation included a thorough examination of the full video recording produced – after a six-week delay – to the Commissioner by the Sunday Times. Based on what I actually said, rather than what I was reported by the newspaper to have said, the Commissioner found and the Committee confirms that I have not acted in breach of the Code of Conduct.”

When ELN asked him for his reaction earlier today, he said: “Obviously I’m very pleased.”

At work in his South Suffolk constituency today, Mr Yeo said he is keen to get back to his duties as chair of the Energy and Climate Change Committee. He will be back in the role next Tuesday.

Top of his agenda is tackling the Prime Minister’s review of green levies, he added: “Obviously there’s quite a lot of work to do, on my part the work in hand is the review of green levies and recent concerns to come about energy bills.”

He said the review is “not really addressing the key problems” with the vertically integrated Big Six and charges levied by the National Grid as well as the distribution network which are “effectively monopolies”.

The MP added: “I’m urging the Government to tighten up their scrutiny of these.”