Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers has been cleared of charges that she broke ministerial disclosure rules by failing to register a meeting with a lobbyist.
During her time as transport minister, Ms Villiers in 2011 met a lobbyist pitching for planning permission for a controversial rail freight yard on a 400-acre site in Hertfordshire.
The freight yard plan has twice been rejected by the department of communities and local government.
Prompted by a complaint from a fellow Conservative MP three months ago, cabinet secretary Jeremy Heywood investigated her failure to list the meeting in an official register.
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Mr Heywood cleared her last night, but only because disclosure rules were not tightened up until after her meeting occurred.
