20 February 2024 , 11:02
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Rishi Sunak faces another nightmare by-election as Scott Benton has lost an appeal against his suspension.
The Blackpool South MP was caught by an undercover newspaper sting offering to lobby ministers on behalf of gambling investors.
In December, the Commons sleaze watchdog found that he had committed an "extremely serious" breach of Parliamentary rules and recommended that he face a 35 day suspension. But Mr Benton had challenged the decision.
Today, his appeal has been rejected. The decision will likely trigger a by-election in his marginal seat, which he won for the Tories with a 3,690 vote majority over Labour at the last election. It comes just days after the Prime Minister suffered the humiliation of losing two previously safe Tory seats - Kingswood and Wellingborough - in by-elections on Thursday.
If MPs rubber-stamp the suspension, a recall petition will be held in Blackpool South. If more than 10% of constituents demand a by-election then one will be held.
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Labour's Jonathan Ashworth 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 its report last year, the Standards Committee said that in a meeting with undercover reporters from The Times Mr Benton had 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,” the committee added. It said that his actions had "undermine[d] the foundations of our democracy". It also accused him of giving “an incomplete and incorrect picture of what had transpired during the meeting” before the footage was released.
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 Daniel Greenberg said this excuse was not “credible”.
In interviews with Mr Greenberg, Mr Benton said he had exaggerated and lied to the reporters in order to impress them. The Standards Commissioner wrote: "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."
Mr Benton said he was “deeply disappointed” in the result of the appeal and claimed the process was unfair. “I am deeply disappointed by the decision of the Appeal Panel to uphold the Standards Committee's unjust findings against me,” he said. “The entire process has been prone to regular leaks at every stage, with journalists knowing the details throughout. This lack of integrity throughout the process has formed an inescapable appearance of bias.”
He continued: “My record of activity, both in Blackpool, and in Westminster, where I am among the most frequent contributors to Parliament, speaks for itself.”