A Tory MP whose offer to accept payment from a gaming corporation in exchange for asking questions in parliament was discovered has had his or her whip suspended.
Undercover reporters from The Times recorded Scott Benton, the MP for Blackpool South, outlining the various ways he could advocate for the fictitious company.
According to parliamentary regulations, members are not allowed to advocate for a specific issue in the House or bring it up with ministers in exchange for remuneration. The acts he proposed he may do would have been a violation of those regulations.
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.
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.
‘Instead of acting right away, he waited until Scott Benton referred himself to the Commissioner.
‘Rishi Sunak’s lack of mandate means he’s too nervous to act against his own troops. No wonder Tory MPs think they can get away with blue murder.’
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.
‘After this meeting, I was asked to forward my CV and some other personal details. I did not do so as I was concerned that what was being asked of me was not within parliamentary rules.
‘I contacted the Commons Registrar and the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner who clarified these rules for me and had no further contact with the company.
‘I did this before being made aware that the company did not exist and the individuals claiming to represent it were journalists.’
Downing Street said it was first and foremost a matter for the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg, and whipping matters were for the Whips Office.