Britain’s Conservative Party has stripped MP Scott Benton of the party whip pending an investigation into undercover footage of him offering to lobby ministers on behalf of gambling investors in exchange for money.
The Tory MP who was caught offering to take money from a gambling company money in exchange for asking questions in parliament has had the whip suspended.
Scott Benton, the MP for Blackpool South, was caught on camera by undercover journalists from The Times, listing the different ways he could lobby on behalf of the fake firm.
The actions he suggested he could take would have been a breach of parliamentary rules, which forbid members from advocating a particular matter in the House or raising it with ministers in return for payment.
A spokesperson for the Tory chief whip Simon Hart said Mr Benton had referred himself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, and ‘has had the Conservative Party Whip suspended whilst an investigation is ongoing’.
But Labour said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s failure to act before Mr Benton referred himself showed his ‘weakness’.
The controversy comes as the government carries out a major review of gambling laws, considering stricter regulations that could hit operators’ profits.
Tory transport minister Richard Holden said Mr Benton’s offer to lobby ministers for money was ‘totally unacceptable’ and assured thorough investigation will be administered to the case.
Asked whether an MP’s actions could get any worse than offering to leak confidential documents, Mr Holden replied: ‘No.’
When pressed that Mr Benton was a Tory, the minister shot back: ‘He’s not any more.’
Responding to the lobbying sting, Tory MP Bob Seely said: ‘I hate the way that these rich and powerful interests get themselves embroiled with MPs and we shouldn’t be doing it.’
‘I’m trying to be super careful about this stuff. I wish my colleagues would as well.’
Mr Benton, the chair of the Parliamentary All Party Betting & Gaming Group, told the undercover journalists he could attempt to water down the reforms by tabling written questions and directly speaking to a minister who would make the decisions.
He also offered a ‘guarantee’ to provide a copy of an upcoming gambling White Paper to the business at least two days before publication, potentially allowing it to benefit from market sensitive information.
The MP agreed with a fee proposed by the reporters in the range of £2,000 to £4,000 a month for two days’ work.
A Labour spokesperson tied the actions of Mr Benton to the prime minister, saying: ‘Yet again we see Rishi Sunak’s weakness.
Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said the revelations were a ‘damning indictment of the state of the Conservative Party’.
Mr Benton, who will not sit in the Commons as a Tory while the whip is suspended, said in a statement: ‘Last month I was approached by a purported company offering me an expert advisory role.
‘I met with two individuals claiming to represent the company to find out what this role entailed.
