Blackpool South MP Scott Benton loses appeal after being caught in lobbying sting

Scott Benton 'committed an extremely serious breach of the rules' when he was caught offering to lobby ministers on behalf of gambling investors, Political Correspondent Andrew Misra reports.

The former Conservative MP for Blackpool South will be suspended after his appeal against the Standards Committee’s decision was dismissed by an independent panel.

Scott Benton will be given the 35 day recommended suspension after an independent panel dismissed his appeal.

Following his suspension decision, a recall petition will be triggered in his constituency for a potential by-election.

Benton was caught by the Times in April 2023, offering to lobby ministers and table parliamentary questions on behalf of gambling investors.

Footage also showed him allegedly boasting there were ways to keep corporate hospitality secret.

He appeared to suggest MPs allow companies to put a falsely low value on tickets they have accepted for live sports and cultural events, in order to avoid the requirement to disclose hospitality worth £300 or more.

The Commons standard watchdog recommended a 35 day suspension but Benton appealed the decision, saying his actions were an "extremely serious breach."

He claimed it was "was heavily influenced by the memorandum submitted by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards which makes several pivotal statements that are completely factually inaccurate".

He added: "If those that judge MPs are not being open minded, fair and proportionate in the way that they are handling evidence or examining witnesses, our democracy is under threat."

He said he believed a second assessment will "consider the facts and lead to a more equitable decision".

The independent panel dismissed both arguments, saying there was “no substance” to his claims against the commissioner and that an investigation by the Standards Committee found there had been no leak of its decision.

The panel also found there was “no substance” to Mr Benton’s claims that the recommended suspension was “unreasonable and/or disproportionate”.

The Government will now move the proposal to suspend Mr Benton, which is likely to pass the Commons without difficulty, triggering the six-week long recall petition process.

If 10% of Mr Benton’s constituents sign the petition, he will be recalled and a by-election will take place, meaning the poll is unlikely to occur until the end of April or the beginning of May.

The Conservatives won Blackpool South in 2019 with a majority of just 3,690, raising the prospect of another difficult by-election for the Prime Minister after losses in Wellingborough and Kingswood last week.

It would be the fourth such vote held this year, while a loss would be the 11th time the Government has lost a seat in a by-election since the start of the current parliament in 2019.

Labour have called on Mr Benton to resign immediately rather than wait for the outcome of any recall petition.

Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow paymaster general, said: "Scott Benton should do the decent thing and resign, saving the people of Blackpool South a lengthy recall petition that would leave them without the representation they deserve.

"This is yet another by-election caused by Tory scandal. Britain deserves better than this carousel of Conservative chaos.

"Labour’s Chris Webb is Blackpool born and bred, and ready to deliver a fresh start for Blackpool South."

In response, Mr Benton has said he is "deeply disappointed" by the decision and described the findings as "unjust", with an "inescapable appearance of bias".

He went on to say the contents of the report "were leaked to the press" and the report ignored "clear and unequivocal evidence of such leaks".

He added: "It goes without saying that the Standards process is designed to be open, fair, honest and transparent so the public and MPs can have trust in it. These events clearly mean that this trust has been breached by Members of the Committee and/or its administrative staff and create an inevitable perception of partiality.

"How can MPs and the public they serve have faith in standards process which doesn’t adhere to its own ethics, standards and principles? To make matters worse, the decision of the Appeal Panel (the timing of which should have again been unknown) was leaked to the press with journalists contacting me last night regarding this and the decision being leaked this morning. Despite being aware of yet more leaks, the Appeal Panel chooses to ignore this and the obvious flaws and bias within the process which they so clearly demonstrate."

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