“So a lot of companies try to be quite cute about the level of the hospitality to make sure it falls just under so people don’t have to declare it, it normally works for the company. And it normally works for MPs as well.”for Betting and Gaming, posing as investors interested in the gambling industry.after initial footage appeared to show him offering to lobby ministers on behalf of gambling investors and “put parliamentary questions on the table” in exchange for money.
He also appeared to suggest he was willing to leak a confidential policy document to the supposed investors.parliamentary lobbyingThe MP said he would refer himself to the parliamentary standards commissioner – but the Government acted to suspend him while the investigation proceeds. Mr Benton has declared hospitality worth £8,600 since June 2021, including tickets from gambling operators, to Ascot, Wimbledon and the women’s European championships.
The latest revelations are likely to raise further questions about the scale of lobbying in Westminster and the risk of improper links between outside influencers and MPs sitting on APPGs.
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