MP Justin Tomlinson sent Wonga draft parliamentary report

Justin Tomlinson MP has apologised and accepted he broke the rules

A Conservative minister who breached parliamentary rules by leaking a committee report to a payday lender is to keep his job, the BBC understands.

Justin Tomlinson, MP for Swindon North, faced calls to resign after he shared a draft report with payday lender Wonga.

Mr Tomlinson, now minister for disabled people at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), said at the time, in 2013, his judgement had "been clouded".

The DWP said he had the confidence of Prime Minister David Cameron.

The incident happened when Mr Tomlinson was a member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in May 2013.

He gave a confidential draft report on regulating consumer credit to a Wonga employee, who replied with comments and suggested amendments to the report.

'Unreserved and full apology'

The PAC investigated the matter and, in a report, said Mr Tomlinson's actions "represented a substantial interference with the work of the committee".

The BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg reported a DWP source had said Mr Tomlinson has also been backed by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, and would stay in his job.

Mr Tomlinson has apologised and accepted he broke the rules.

In a letter to the Public Accounts Committee he said he allowed his "judgment to be clouded" by his "strongly-held belief that action needed to be taken on payday lenders".

"I also accept that as a new member I should have taken advice about the limits placed on members of parliament during committee inquiries.

"Nonetheless, I hope the committee accepts that it was never my intention to interfere with the correct process of publishing a report I fully supported whilst a member and still do today.

"I reiterate my unreserved and full apology."

The matter has now been referred to parliament's Standards and Privileges Committee.