Scott Benton: Former Calderdale councillor now Blackpool MP suspended from Tory party after reportedly filmed offering lobbying services in sting operation

Undercover footage from The Times newspaper appears to show Conservative Scott Benton – who was a councillor for Brighouse and former leader of Calderdale Council’s Tory group – saying he could lobby ministers on behalf of the gambling industry for up to £4,000 a month.

Mr Benton visited Calderdale less than two weeks ago to speak to members of Calderdale Conservatives.

A spokesperson for Chief Whip Simon Hart 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.”

Reporters from The Times, posing as employees of a fake company lobbying to influence Government policy, met Mr Benton at a London hotel last month.

In a statement to the Times, the MP said he had contacted the Commons authorities after the meeting to seek advice because he was “concerned that what was being asked of me was not within parliamentary rules” and there had been “no further contact”.

He did not pursue the role and no rules appear to have been broken.

The MPs’ code of conduct says they may not speak in the House of Commons and make approaches to ministers in return for payment.

"Last month I was approached by a purported company offering me an expert advisory role,” he said.

"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."

If an MP loses the whip it means they have been expelled from their party but will still remain as an MP - meaning they sit as an independent member until the banishing party restores the whip.

Mr Benton remained as a Brighouse councillor while he was MP for Blackpool South until 2021 – he said he would have stood down at the scheduled May 2020 elections but these were cancelled because of the Covid pandemic.

In 2020 he was investigated by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards who found he had failed to register six entries in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests within the House’s 28-day deadline, for ten payments received for work as a MP’s researcher, before he became an MP, and and work as a councillor.

The Commissioner concluded: “In failing to register his various interests within the specified time frame, I found the Member had acted in breach of the rules.

“Mr Benton has acknowledged and apologised for all of the breaches and has taken steps to prevent a recurrence.”