Conservative MP Scott Benton has had the party whip suspended pending an investigation into undercover footage of him offering to lobby ministers on behalf of gambling industry investors.
He was prepared to leak market sensitive information to an investment fund and ask parliamentary questions on its behalf, in breach of parliamentary lobbying rules, an undercover investigation for The Times found.
A spokesperson for Tory 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.” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who entered office last year promising “integrity” within the party, had come under pressure to strip the Blackpool South MP of the whip.
