THE Tory MP for Lunesdale has been ordered to apologise for breaching rules on donations.

David Morris was found to have broken the paid advocacy rule when he asked a parliamentary question after having accepted a £10,000 donation from an energy firm.

The company, headed by Ukrainian-born businessman Alexander Temerko, is seeking to build an electricity interconnector between the UK and mainland Europe.

Mr Temerko has donated more than £1m in total to the Conservative Party, and to individual Tory MPs, in recent years.

Mr Morris’s question requested that energy watchdog Ofgem ‘protect’ enterprises like Aquind Ltd through new regulations.

The day after his Commons question, Mr Morris was also found to have emailed a copy of his question and the minister’s reply to the Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy.

The commissioner found that the question and the email breached the rules on MPs conduct.

The MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale was also criticised by the Parliament’s Standards Commissioner for his conduct during her investigation.

Last September, Mr Morris accepted a donation of £10,000 from Aquind Ltd, which was declared on his register of interests.

The parliamentary commissioner also criticised Mr Morris’ behaviour during her investigation as ‘regrettable and disrespectful of the House’s system of standards’, having ‘repeatedly questioned the commissioner’s remit and her right to consult her officials’.

Sanctioning Mr Morris for breaking parliamentary rules, the Committee on Standards noted that the MP had 'acknowledged he had breached the rules and apologised' and said that Mr Morris 'had been dealing with particularly challenging and stressful personal circumstances which may have affected his judgment and behaviour during the investigation'.

MPs are prohibited from lobbying for any person, group or organisation within six months of receiving donation money from them.

Former Tory leader and Prime Minister David Cameron warned lobbying would be the next great political scandal a decade ago.

He has since been served with a ban on lobbying ministers, after taking on a number of commercial roles since stepping down as an MP in 2016.

Mr Morris was due to make an apology to the House of Commons this week.

Labour member of Lancaster City Council and candidate for Morecambe South in upcoming county elections, Philip Black, was contacted for comment.