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Two Tory MPs are accused of “abusing the rules” after they camped out in Parliament to flood it with more than SEVENTY proposed laws.

Peter Bone and Christopher Chope took turns camping in the Palace of Westminster for four nights to “take advantage” of a bizarre system for MPs to change the law of the land.

Their 73 ideas - which include privatising the BBC, scrapping the foreign aid department and making Brexit Day a bank holiday - will now get their first mention in the House of Commons before other MPs’ reforms.

Bills currently behind theirs in the running order include one to stop poor kids starving over summer and another to legalise medicinal cannabis.

Mr Bone flatly denied abusing the system - and said all MPs had the same chance to queue up.

But Labour MP Paul Flynn, whose bid to change cannabis law is only due its first Commons mention in October, said he was “sure” the pair want to block Bills like his.

"They are not the two most progressive MPs and most of their Bills, if not all of them, have not a hope of getting on the statute book,” he told the Mirror.

"Parliament has got to act against that. It’s an abuse of the Parliamentary rules. They’ve taken advantage of the fact the parliamentary rules have not set a limit.”

Work and Pensions Committee chair Frank Field’s Bill aimed to extend free school meals to children during the summer holidays to cut child poverty.

But it will only be read out and given a date for debate after Mr Chope's and Mr Bone's Bills on September 5.

Mr Field said MPs should not be able to “dominate” proceedings adding: "I think this should be the last year in which they're able to do it.”

He and Mr Flynn both called for a limit of two Bills per MP.

(Image: REUTERS)

Also behind the pair in the queue was Tory MP Fiona Bruce, who wants to let the High Court refer findings of genocide in countries like Syria to the International Criminal Court.

She said: "It is essential this action is taken without further delay whilst as much evidence as possible can still be gathered, presented to, and considered by the ICC."

The row revolves around Presentation Bills - slim and obscure chances for backbench MPs to change the law.

To put one forward, MPs had to queue up before a deadline of 10am last Thursday - but could then name as many as they liked.

Mr Chope and Mr Bone queued for four days, guaranteeing themselves first place, then gave notice of an astonishing 73 planned laws.

All 73 will be allotted a future debating time in the House of Commons on September 5, the first day back after summer.

But there are only currently 13 days between now and November 2018 available for debating any type of Private Member’s Bill (PMB).

(Image: Universal Images Group Editorial)

That suggests Mr Bone and Mr Chope will be free to spread their Bills across all 13 days if they want.

The only PMBs currently guaranteed to be debated before theirs are 20 which were drawn in a random ballot.

Despite their actions, neither Mr Chope nor Mr Bone backed a Labour bid earlier this month to double the time for debating backbench Bills.

Mr Chope, who proposed 47 Bills in one go, did not return a request for comment.

Mr Bone, who proposed the other 26, claimed: "It's not an abuse of the system.

"You have to say whether the system is right, that's another issue. I wouldn't do it this way myself, I would have a different system.”

He added: "I would like the whole of the Private Member's Bill system looked at and changed. There are things that we could do that would improve the situation. It is not a sensible way of deciding time by queuing up for Bills. But on the other hand if that's the system, that's the system.”

(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

Mr Bone - who was filmed camping out in the same way with Mr Chope in a 2015 TV documentary - said it was "a tradition that's been going back now many many years”.

He added: "I had an air bed and Chris had, I don't know what his one was, but it's not the same bed. It was one very large room, we had separate things. We took it in turns to sleep over."

Asked if he was trying to keep other MPs off the list, Mr Bone replied: "Anyone can apply for a Bill and of course anyone can queue up. Obviously if other people queue up they would get their Bills on as well."

Asked if he felt sorry for MPs like Mr Field or Ms Bruce, Mr Bone replied: "They could have queued up as well."

Presentation Bills already have meagre odds of victory because they are placed behind the 20 drawn in a ballot.

Even if they are given time for debate, they fail if an MP is still debating them in the Commons chamber at a cut-off point of 2.30pm on a Friday.

That loophole has seen Tory MPs accused of filibustering to stop laws including free hospital parking for carers and first aid training for school children.

But some PMBs do still become law - 295 out of 2,824 proposed between 1983 and 2010.

Of that number, 186 won the ballot, 41 were Presentation Bills, 12 were under the separate Ten Minute Rule system and 56 began in the House of Lords.