Tory MP suspended after being caught in sting trying to sell parliamentary questions for cash

6 April 2023, 09:09 | Updated: 6 April 2023, 09:24

Tory MP Scott Benton has had the whip suspended after he was caught on film offering to table parliamentary questions and lobby ministers for fake gambling industry investors who were actually undercover reporters.

The Blackpool South MP was caught seemingly willing to break parliamentary rules about paid lobbying by preparing to help an investment woo policymakers.

The sting was organised at a central London hotel last month and Benton also offered to leak a copy of a white paper on gambling reforms before it was published.

Benton reportedly boasted of easy access to ministers and said he would "sit outside" a minister's office in order to lobby for the bogus investors.

When discussing his fee, Benton agreed when the fake investors offered him "£2,000 to £4,000" for two hours work each month.

He also further made claims to the reporters that MPs who accept corporate hospitality were also willing to table parliamentary questions in return for the perks.

MPs are banned from acting as paid lobbyists and the operation is likely to increase scrutiny of politicians after months of rows over second jobs.

Read More: Senior Tory Sir Graham Brady asks fake Korean firm for £60k a year in bid to pick up sixth job

Rules were tightened after the Owen Paterson lobbying scandal which formed part of the trickle of scandal which brought down Boris Johnson's government.

Benton's offer would have been a breach of the new restriction on providing parliamentary advice which came in as part of the slew of rules meant to prevent more scandal.

Reporters from The Times told Benton that he was talking to employees of Tahr Partners, a fictitious "British-Indian family office interested in investing in the betting and gaming sector".

The latest sting follows another operation last week in which the Led by Donkeys campaign group covertly recorded Matt Hancock, Sir Graham Brady and Kwasi Kwarteng discussing their fees for a fake job and then released the footage.

After the report was published, a spokesperson for Conservative chief whip Simon Hart MP said: "Following his self-referral to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards earlier this evening, Scott Benton has had the Conservative Party Whip suspended whilst an investigation is ongoing.”