MP Scott Benton's seven ridiculous excuses after he was caught in lobbying sting
Scott Benton faces being booted out of the Commons after a sleaze watchdog found he’d broken lobbying rules.
The Blackpool South MP was caught by an undercover newspaper sting offering to lobby ministers on behalf of gambling investors.
The Commons Standards Committee said his actions were an "extremely serious breach" of the rules as he’d given the impression that “he was corrupt and 'for sale', and that so were many other” MPs. "He communicated a toxic message about standards in Parliament. We condemn Mr Benton for his comments, which unjustifiably tarnish the reputation of all MPs,” they added. The Committee recommended that he should be suspended for 35 days - something which could trigger a by-election.
The MP insisted that "at no point during the meeting did he agree to undertake activity that would be in breach of the rules". But the Committee said he suggested MPs could lobby ministers, set up meetings with government advisers, table parliamentary questions and provide access to confidential documents.
Here we take a look at some of the excuses he gave during the investigation into him.
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I couldn’t concentrate as the hotel was noisy
Mr Benton met the undercover reporters from The Times at a hotel in central London. In interviews with the Standards Commissioner, he argued it was a noisy and distracting environment that was not necessarily conducive to the clearest of thinking.
But the recording of the meeting shows how he commented on how quiet it was. One of the reporters said: “It’s pretty convenient. It’s nice, because quite a lot of these big hotels around here are quite busy and quite noisy. I find the music often in these places makes it impossible to hear the other person so.” Mr Benton replied: “That’s very, very true. It’s quite quiet here and you’re close to the Commons as well.”
In his report, the Commissioner said: “I have watched the video of the meeting and although it is held in a hotel, there is nothing extraordinary about the environment. My view is that even in the event Mr Benton found the environment distracting, this provides no justification for the statements he made during the interview.”
I was exaggerating as it was a job interview
Mr Benton argued that he’d only suggested he’d break the lobbying rules for MPs as it was a job interview, which is an occasion when people often exaggerate. Explaining his comments, he told the Standards Commissioner: “I’m just trying to exaggerate my remarks as part of an interview as I’ve done throughout on a number of different occasions. Clearly an interview where I’m trying to impress company that’s broadly what people do within interviews. I’ve made exaggerated remarks.”
In his report, the Commissioner wrote: “Throughout Mr Benton’s two interviews with myself, he accepted that many of the comments he made on 7 March 2023 were lies.It goes without saying that it is intensely disturbing and disappointing that a Member makes assertions to strangers, that he later readily describes as lies.”
I was offering to leak document after it was published
During his meeting with the fake company, Mr Benton suggested he could get hold of a Government paper on gambling policy 48 hours before it was published. But after he was caught he claimed he had actually meant 48 hours after it was made public. The Standards Commissioner said this excuse was not “credible”.
An undercover reporter had told Mr Benton it would be advantageous “if you’re able to get us advanced sight” of the gambling white paper. Asked if that would be possible, he said: “Probably.” He added: “I could guarantee you within 48 hours of publication for example.” When pushed on whether this was “before publication?” Mr Benton replied: “Yeah, I would make a song and dance… making sure that happened.”
In his first interview with the Standards Commissioner, Mr Benton claimed that he had not offered to leak the document and “was actually offering was advance sight 48 hours after publication”. But the Commissioner concluded: “His explanation is not credible, as by then the paper would be in the public domain and freely accessible by all.”
I made up knowing Kemi Badenoch very, very well
When the undercover reporters asked if Mr Benton could help influence the India free trade deal he boasted about how well he knew Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch.
“I have to admit trade, international trade isn’t one of my areas of expertise or particular hobby horses, so to speak, but it is something I mean, I could get up to speed on pretty quickly for want of a better term,” he told them. “I know Kemi very, very well, I supported her for leadership.”
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In an interview with the Standards Commissioner he said this wasn’t actually true. “I’ve said I know [Kemi Badenoch] very well, which isn’t accurate,” he said.
It was a private meeting not attended in my role as an MP
In a letter to the Standards Committee, Mr Benton argued: “In a democracy, it is imperative for parliamentarians to have the freedom to engage in private conversations and express their views openly.” During the investigation, he had repeatedly insisted that his conversation with the fake firm was a private meeting and that he had not attended in his capacity as an MP.
But the Standards Commissioner concluded that it could not be said to relate to his “purely private and personal life” as the undercover reporters “were not friends or family with whom he had a personal connection” and the invitation had been sent to his parliamentary email address.
He added: “The notional employment opportunity was entirely based on Mr Benton’s position as a Member. Most of the meeting conversation turned on parliamentary matters and the actions Mr Benton could take by reason of and in the course of his privileged position as a Member of Parliament.”
I didn’t know what the job was
Mr Benton claimed that when he received the email from the fake company suggesting a coffee or lunch, he was unsure what the firm was seeking from him. He stated: “It wasn’t particularly clear over and above saying the employment would be in the realm of one to two days per month and it would be in the field of betting and gaming.”
In his interviews with the Standards Commissioner, he said numerous times that he was not sure what the company wanted from him and “bitterly” regrets not asking them to clarify this. He was also adamant that the compensation package was unclear.
But the Commissioner said he did not buy Mr Benton’s suggestion that “many of his comments were not on the basis that he would be paid by the company”. The initial email made clear the interview was for a paid role, at the beginning of the interview the undercover reporters said they were looking for a strategic adviser, and remuneration was specifically discussed at the end of the meeting when Mr Benton agreed a few days’ work a month for £2,000 to £4,000 would be acceptable.
I didn’t know the most recent rules
In his written evidence to the Standards Committee, Mr Benton argued that changes to the lobbying rules for MPs, including the ban on paid parliamentary advice, had come into force not long before his meeting with the fake firm. He claimed that he had lacked “guidance as per the recent changes to the Code at my disposal during the meeting”.
But the Committee said: “Ignorance of the House’s rules is not a defence against a claim that they have been breached, but we note that… even if Mr Benton had been unaware of the recent changes to the rules, the actions he was suggesting he could take would have contravened the rules in their previous form.”
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