A Conservative representative, Scott Benton, has been temporarily removed from his party due to a controversy surrounding lobbying efforts involving a fictitious gambling investor.
The Conservative party has taken action to suspend Scott Benton following a covert investigation by a newspaper that captured him offering to facilitate lobbying of government officials on behalf of a fabricated gambling industry investor.
Benton, who represents Blackpool South in Parliament, was secretly filmed by an undercover journalist from The Times discussing a potential advisory position with a team from a fabricated company. The meeting was recorded without Benton’s knowledge.
Although Benton did not accept the fabricated role or violate any regulations, the video evidence published by the newspaper shows Benton explaining how he would introduce parliamentary inquiries. The UK Parliament’s ethical guidelines prohibit members from engaging in lobbying for financial compensation.
The Times also reported that Benton stated he could provide a copy of a gambling reform document 48 hours before its public release, giving the fictitious company advance knowledge of its contents before other market participants.
Benton voluntarily reported the matter to Parliament’s standards oversight body, and the Conservative party withdrew its support for him last night (April 5).
“Last month, I was contacted by a company claiming to offer me a position as an expert advisor,” Benton stated in a communication to the BBC.
I encountered a pair of individuals who claimed to be affiliated with the firm to gain further insight into the position.
Subsequent to the gathering, they requested that I submit my curriculum vitae and supplementary personal data. I declined their proposition due to apprehension regarding the legitimacy of their solicitation in light of parliamentary regulations.
I reached out to the parliamentary registrar and the commissioner responsible for parliamentary standards, who elucidated the pertinent guidelines. I ceased all communication with the organization. This transpired prior to my discovery that the entity was non-existent and the individuals purporting to represent it were, in fact, members of the press.
A representative for Conservative Chief Whip Simon Hart stated: “Following Scott Benton’s self-reporting to the commissioner for parliamentary standards earlier this evening, the Conservative whip has been temporarily removed from their duties pending an investigation.”
