Scott Benton, a Conservative Party lawmaker in the UK, has been suspended from his position pending an investigation after he was filmed by undercover reporters from The Times newspaper
offering to leak market-sensitive information and lobby ministers on behalf of a fake company.
Benton, who has been a lawmaker in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's party since 2019, was recorded telling the reporters that he had access to ministers and could provide them with a copy of an upcoming market-sensitive government policy paper on gambling reforms. He also offered to submit parliamentary questions on their behalf.
The journalists had posed as gambling industry investors seeking a paid adviser, and proposed paying Benton thousands of pounds a month for his services.
However, members of parliament are not permitted to accept money to raise issues with ministers or ask questions in parliament, and are also prohibited from offering advice on how to influence the work of parliament.
Following the publication of the video, Benton referred himself to the independent Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, which investigates alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament.
A spokesperson for Simon Hart, who oversees Conservative party discipline, confirmed that Benton had been suspended from the party pending an investigation.
Benton issued a statement in which he stated that he had not followed up on the meeting because he was concerned that "what was being asked of me was not within parliamentary rules". He added that he contacted the Commons registrar and the parliamentary standards commissioner to clarify the rules, and had no further contact with the fake company after that.
"I did this before being made aware that the company did not exist and the individuals claiming to represent it were journalists," he said.
The incident has raised questions about the integrity of politicians and the safeguards in place to prevent unethical behaviour. Benton's suspension sends a strong message that such behaviour will not be tolerated within the Conservative party. Photo by UK Parliament, Wikimedia commons.